Category: Memoir

My Marathon: Reflections on a Gold Medal Life by Frank Shorter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For Olympics nerds and running history nerds (like me!), this read is an absolute win. Full disclosure: Shorter fully admits in the book that he is not much of a writer, and the prose can be accordingly repetitive and flat now and again. However, I find a lot of value in hearing someone’s story straight from them, and Shorter’s story is a remarkable one. He’s one of the greatest American runners of all time, soundly crushing competition at many levels and distances, ultimately medaling in two Olympic marathons. Shorter also shows great bravery in how he weaves the account of his childhood abuse with that of his rising star in the running world–it’s a great reminder of persistent human strength and the shadows that can lurk behind success.

View all my reviews

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a quiet little masterpiece of a memoir. The book, centered around a year of the author’s life when she finds herself bedridden with a debilitating illness, takes us deep within an introspective, spiraling path that echoes the pattern of her small friend’s shell. The life of a small woodland snail unexpectedly frames and obsesses Bailey’s vision of her limited world, leading her to learn all she can about its unique life, senses, and consciousness. Peppered with quotations from 19th century naturalists, Bailey’s narrative is, like a snail, meditative, humble, lovely, and downright amazing. Beware: reading this book will almost inevitably lead to a sudden uptick in the desire to keep a snail of your own.

View all my reviews

Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s written tribute to his 50-year friendship with legendary basketball coach John Wooden is a gift to sports history. While the author may be the NBA’s reigning all-time leading scorer (with scores of other athletic accolades also to his name), this memoir about his basketball career veers away from stats and records. Instead, it drives straight into the core of one of the most incredible mentor relationships ever seen in sports. The writing, honest and witty, is the linguistic equivalent of a subtle, knowing smile. Abdul-Jabbar reminisces about Coach Wooden’s aphorisms and Midwestern quirks, his winning strategies, and his quiet struggles. Most of all, through the kaleidoscope of Abdul-Jabbar’s memories, we see the vision of a unique friendship where two men were perfectly suited to learn from each other, challenge each other, support each other, and become masters not just of their sport, but also of living a life that fills each “minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.”

View all my reviews