Contemporary Authors

Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes

Grunenwald, Jill

WORK TITLE: Running with a Police Escort
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.jillgrunenwald.com/
CITY: Cleveland
STATE: OH
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:

https://www.jillgrunenwald.com/bio

RESEARCHER NOTES:

 

LC control no.:

n 2016009952

LCCN Permalink:

https://lccn.loc.gov/n2016009952

HEADING:

Grunenwald, Jill A.

000

00441nz a2200109n 450

001

10091234

005

20160225101616.0

008

160225n| azannaabn |n aaa

010

__ |a n 2016009952

040

__ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC

100

1_ |a Grunenwald, Jill A.

670

__ |a Hudson, 2015: |b t.p. (Jill A. Grunenwald) back cover (librarian; BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State Univ.; MLIS from the Univ. of Kentucky; graduated from Hudson High School in 2000)

PERSONAL

Born in Hudson, OH.

EDUCATION:

Bowling Green State University, B.F.A.; University of Kentucky, MLIS.

ADDRESS

CAREER

Writer, librarian, and memoirist.

WRITINGS

  • Hudson, Arcadia Publishing (Charleston, SC), 2015
  • Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack, Skyhorse Publishing (New York, NY), 2017

Author of a blog, The Year of the Phoenix.

SIDELIGHTS

Jill Grunenwald is a writer and librarian based in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the author of Hudson, a concise history of the town of Hudson, Ohio. She describes the city from its founding in 1799 as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve to its most recent position as a growing population center. She notes how the city began to expand when the Ohio Turnpike came through the area and provided an improved transportation route. She describes many of the town’s local traditions and how preservation of them became a touchstone as the town and its section of Ohio continued to grow. She also describes many of the historical preservation efforts undertaken to keep Hudson’s image and identity intact. The downtown district, for example, was given particular attention, with many of the structures there earning a spot in the National Register of Historic Places.

In Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack, Grunenwald describes a profound transformation that occurred in her life, changing her from an individual who weighed over 300 pounds to an active athlete with a grudging respect for, but genuine enjoyment of, running.

As a librarian in Cleveland, Grunenwald lived a mostly sedentary lifestyle. She had little interest in physical activity, dieting, or physical fitness, even though she had always struggled with her weight. Physical education classes in school had been traumatic, and any thoughts of athleticism were purely fantasy. Though she was relatively young at age twenty-nine, her weight and her lack of exercise put her at risk for many serious health problems. In the fall of 2012, she got a disturbing email from her younger sister, who was concerned about Grunenwald’s health. This message from a well-meaning sibling caused Grunenwald to evaluate her status and lifestyle. In response, she did what at one time would have been unthinkable to her: she took up running.

In her book, Grunenwald recounts her personal history and what led up to her decision. She spends most of the book telling the story of how she revised her attitude toward exercise and pushed herself to make health-enhancing lifestyle changes that brought about substantial weight loss, improved health, and greater self-esteem.

The journey from couch potato to committed runner who participates in marathons was not an easy one, Grunenwald reports. Initially, her lifestyle changes took the form of dieting and running on the treadmill—dubbed by her as the “dreadmill”—at her apartment complex. Soon, however, she found that she actually enjoyed running. Almost unbelieving, she found herself involved in 5K road races, then more strenuous 10K runs. All the while, her health and fitness improved and her weight dropped. Even more importantly, her self-esteem improved along with her interest in maintaining her exercise regimen.

Grunenwald makes it clear that she hasn’t won any of these races. The title of her book reflect the fact that she usually ends up at the very back of the pack, with the police reopening streets that had been closed for the race behind her. She stresses, however, that it is not the winning of a race that counts, nor even the participation, but the benefit that results from believing in oneself enough to make a major change for the better and stick with it over the long term.

A writer on the Learned Owl Bookstore website called Running with a Police Escort “heartbreaking and hilarious” as well as “touching and insightful.” Grunenwald’s “chatty, confessional style will entertain readers and perhaps even inspire them to lace up, too,” commented Annie Bostrom, writing in Booklist. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted, “This autobiography will appeal to and inspire those struggling to get healthy.” New York Times reviewer Meghan Daum called Grunenwald a “stylish and sparkly writer,” and remarked that she “runs slowly and writes affably.”

BIOCRIT
BOOKS

  • Grunenwald, Jill, Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack (memoir), Skyhorse Publishing (New York, NY), 2017.

PERIODICALS

  • New York Times Book Review, March 31, 2017, “In the Long Run,” Megan Daum, review of Running with a Police Escort; April 2, 2017, Meghan Daum, “Memoir,” review of Running with a Police Escort, p. 11.

ONLINE

  • Jill Grunenwald Website, http://www.jillgrunenwald.com (August 29, 2017).

  • Learned Owl Bookstore Website, http://www.learnedowl.com/ (August 29, 2017), biography of Jill Grunenwald.*

  • Hudson Arcadia Publishing (Charleston, SC), 2015
  • Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack Skyhorse Publishing (New York, NY), 2017
1. Running with a police escort : tales from the back of the pack LCCN 2016048466 Type of material Book Personal name Grunenwald, Jill A., author. Main title Running with a police escort : tales from the back of the pack / Jill Grunenwald. Published/Produced New York, New York : Skyhorse Publishing, 2017. Projected pub date 1701 Description pages cm ISBN 9781510712799 (hardback) Library of Congress Holdings Information not available. 2. Hudson LCCN 2014958789 Type of material Book Personal name Grunenwald, Jill A., author. Main title Hudson / Jill A. Grunenwald. Published/Produced Charleston, South Carolina : Arcadia Publishing, [2015] Description 95 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. ISBN 9781467114172 1467114170 Links Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1508/2014958789-d.html Contributor biographical information http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1508/2014958789-b.html Shelf Location FLM2016 119118 CALL NUMBER F499.H8 G78 2015 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLM2) Shelf Location FLM2016 073882 CALL NUMBER F499.H8 G78 2015 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLM2)
  • Author Home Page - https://www.jillgrunenwald.com

    Jill grunenwald
    About
    Events
    Books
    Shop
    Contact

    "A Stylish and sparkly writer"
    Meghan Daum, The New York Times
    I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
    Jill Grunenwald is the healthy living blogger behind The Year of the Phoenix, where she talks all things body image, back of the pack, and being your own hero. She is the creator and co-host of the Professional Book Nerds podcast and has been a contributor on NPR's On Point. Her memoir Running with a Police Escort is out now from Skyhorse Publishing.


    What People Are Saying:

    "Grunenwald’s chatty, confessional style will entertain readers." -Booklist

    "For everyone who's ever said they're too heavy to run, Jill's memoir is here to prove you wrong." -Family Circle

    "Writing from the heart." -The Help Desk Book Blog

    "This autobiography will appeal to and inspire those struggling to get healthy." -Publishers Weekly

    "Hilarious and relatable tale." -Jill Angie, Running With Curves and Not Your Average Half Marathon

    "Jill Grunenwald is fantastic at conveying the heart of an authentic runner." -Jackie Dikos, columnist for Runner's World

    "Fun and feisty." --Jennifer Graham, author of Honey, Do You Need a Ride?

    "Candid and laugh-out-loud [funny]." -Library Moments blog

  • Sky Horse Publishing - http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/11667-9781510712799-running-with-a-police-escort

    OK
    This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website

    Allworth Press
    Arcade Publishing
    Skyhorse Publishing
    Sky Pony Press
    Sports Publishing
    Yucca Publishing
    Carrel Books
    Talos Press
    Night Shade Books
    Good Books
    New Releases
    Forthcoming
    About
    Submission Guidelines
    Contact
    Blog

    Browse by Subject
    Browse by Series
    Browse by Author
    Browse by Collection
    Facebook
    Instagram
    Twitter

    Running with a Police Escort
    Tales from the Back of the Pack
    Jill Grunenwald
    Hardback
    9781510712799
    $22.99

    ebook
    9781510712805
    $22.99

    Description
    Details
    Reviews
    In the fall of 2012, quirky and cat-loving Cleveland librarian Jill Grunenwald got an alarming email from her younger sister: her sister was very concerned with Jill’s weight and her overall mental and physical health. Having always struggled with her weight, Jill was currently hitting the scales at more than three hundred pounds. Right then, Jill looked in the mirror and decided that she needed to make a life-style change, pronto. She enrolled in Weight Watchers and did something else that she—the girl who avoided gym class like the plague in high school—never thought she’d do; Jill started running. And believe it or not, it wasn’t that bad. Actually, it was kind of fun.

    Three months later, Jill did the previously unthinkable and ran her very first 5k at the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo. Battling the infamous hills of the course, Jill conquered her fears and finished—but in dead last. Yep, the police were reopening the streets behind her. But Jill didn’t let that get her down—because when you run for your health and happiness, your only real competition is yourself.

    Six years and more than one hundred pounds lost later, Jill is still running and racing regularly, and she is a proud member of the back of the pack in every race that she has entered. In Running with a Police Escort, Jill chronicles her racing adventures, proving that being a slow runner takes just as much guts and heart as being an Olympic champion. At turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Running with a Police Escort is for every runner who has never won a race but still loves the sport.

    Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.

    In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
    Privacy Policy © Skyhorse Publishing
    Powered by

  • Learned Owl Bookstore - http://www.learnedowl.com/event/hudson-author-jill-grunenwald-running-police-escort-jan-7

    Hudson author Jill Grunenwald with Running with a Police Escort (Jan. 7)

    Jill Grunenwald will be visiting to sign her new memoir, Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack. This book chronicles the racing adventures that helped her get fit, find happiness, and learn to love running at the back of the pack. Both heartbreaking and hilarious, Running with a Police Escort is a touching and insightful journey about conquering fears and learning to love yourself, no matter what place you finish in.

    Grunenwald is also the author of Images of Modern America: Hudson, a photographic history of Hudson from 1950 to the present day. A three time half-marathoner, she proudly represents the back of the pack at every race and has been an Ambassador for the Cleveland Marathon race series since 2015. She has her BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University and her MLIS from the University of Kentucky. Currently, she is employed as a staff librarian at OverDrive. She lives and works in Cleveland.

    Event date:
    Saturday, January 7, 2017 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
    Event address:
    204 N. Main St.
    Hudson, OH 44236

  • Half Price Books - https://www.hpb.com/products/running-with-a-police-escort-9781510712799

    Running With A Police Escort: Tales From The Back Of The Pack
    by Grunenwald, Jill
    "In the fall of 2012, quirky and cat-loving Cleveland librarian Jill Grunenwald got an alarming email from her younger sister: her sister was very concerned with Jill's weight and her overall mental and physical health. Having always struggled with her weight, Jill was currently hitting the scales at more than three hundred pounds. Right then, Jill looked in the mirror and decided that she needed to make a life-style change, pronto. She enrolled in Weight Watchers and did something else that she--the girl who avoided gym class like the plague in high school--never thought she'd do; Jill started running. And believe it or not, it wasn't that bad. Actually, it was kind of fun. Three months later, Jill did the previously unthinkable and ran her very first 5k at the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo. Battling the infamous hills of the course, Jill conquered her fears and finished--but in dead last. Yep, the police were reopening the streets behind her. But Jill didn't let that get her down--because when you run foryour health and happiness, your only real competition is yourself. Six years and more than one hundred pounds lost later, Jill is still running and racing regularly, and she is a proud member of the back of the pack in every race that she has entered. InRunning with a Police Escort, Jill chronicles her racing adventures, proving that being a slow runner takes just as much guts and heart as being an Olympic champion. At turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Running with a Police Escort is for every runner who has never won a race but still loves the sport"-- Read less

8/7/17, 4(50 PM
Print Marked Items
Memoir
Meghan Daum
The New York Times Book Review.
(Apr. 2, 2017): Arts and Entertainment: p27(L). From Book Review Index Plus.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Daum, Meghan. "Memoir." The New York Times Book Review, 2 Apr. 2017, p. 27(L). PowerSearch,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA488033456&it=r&asid=d61973bcc46b3ceb8e9cbad7d01cc8ef. Accessed 7 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A488033456
about:blank Page 1 of 3
8/7/17, 4(50 PM
Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack
Annie Bostrom
Booklist.
113.8 (Dec. 15, 2016): p11. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack.
By Jill Grunenwald.
Jan. 2017. 244p. Skyhorse, $22.99 (9781510712799); e-book (97815107128051.613.2.
Cleveland librarian Grunenwald's closest connection to exercise was an occasional interest in the weight-loss show The Biggest Loser when she received a wake-up e-mail from her sister, who was worrying about her health. Then over 300 pounds, Grunenwald started dieting and running on her apartment complex's "dreadmill." Soon, Grunenwald, who blogs and records a podcast about her experiences, could hardly believe that she, never before an athlete and still vividly remembering the traumas of childhood PE, was suddenly enjoying running. Her first 5K race became several, before she started running 10K races and half marathons. Whether she's writing about setting goals, finding the best sports bra ("Strap. That. Shit. Down"), or getting out of a running slump, self-proclaimed slow runner Grunenwald's chatty, confessional style will entertain readers and perhaps even inspire them to lace up, too. (Clevelanders especially will appreciate her detailed descriptions of race routes and the local running scene.) Readers will find that the author's unique perspective "from the back of the pack" challenges preconceived notions as it encourages stepping outside of one's comfort zones.--Annie Bostrom
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Bostrom, Annie. "Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack." Booklist, 15 Dec. 2016, p. 11.
PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA476563414&it=r&asid=9f69dc7a55ce3e71e702669337afff95. Accessed 7 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A476563414
about:blank Page 2 of 3
8/7/17, 4(50 PM
Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack
Publishers Weekly.
263.50 (Dec. 5, 2016): p65. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack
Jill Grunenwald. Skyhorse, $22.99 (244p) ISBN 978-1-5107-1279-9
Grunenwald, a librarian and podcast host, shares her life in fitness, from her middle school days avoiding gym class to the present, in which she is an enthusiastic slow runner of races. She often finishes last as the police reopen the streets, hence the title. She also documents her journey from being in denial about her unhealthy lifestyle to acknowledging it and taking action via Weight Watchers and, eventually, running. The story leads up to her first runs in Cleveland, where she lives, to her first race, her first destination race, and many other races. The author is open about her physical pains as a 311 -lb. runner, her food cravings, and the mental hurdles she overcomes throughout her races and runs. No matter the challenge, readers witness her walking and finishing last with dignity. Readers can count on Grunenwald to be honest about herself and others, and sprinkled in the chapters are fun references to writers such as Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King (she is a librarian, after all). This autobiography will appeal to and inspire those struggling to get healthy. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack." Publishers Weekly, 5 Dec. 2016, p. 65.
PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA475224913&it=r&asid=270cf4a193d2e0ef2b8152436edbd512. Accessed 7 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A475224913
about:blank Page 3 of 3

Daum, Meghan. "Memoir." The New York Times Book Review, 2 Apr. 2017, p. 27(L). PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA488033456&it=r. Accessed 7 Aug. 2017. Bostrom, Annie. "Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack." Booklist, 15 Dec. 2016, p. 11. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA476563414&it=r. Accessed 7 Aug. 2017. "Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack." Publishers Weekly, 5 Dec. 2016, p. 65. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA475224913&it=r. Accessed 7 Aug. 2017.
  • NY Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/books/review/in-the-long-run.html

    Word count: 2437

    SECTIONSHOMESEARCHSKIP TO CONTENTSKIP TO NAVIGATIONVIEW MOBILE VERSION
    BOOK REVIEW|In the Long Run
    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    Email
    More
    Save
    rcarte SETTINGS

    FICTION
    This Story of Love and Gaming Pits the Real Against the Virtual

    NONFICTION
    Assessing the Value of Buddhism, for Individuals and for the World

    ESSAY
    Derek Walcott and the Peculiar Disturbance of His Poetry

    NONFICTION
    Exploring the Sources and Consolations of Poetry, in Prose

    Children’s Authors Take On the Refugee Crisis

    NONFICTION
    Deep Dives Into How Poetry Works (and Why You Should Care)

    EDITORS’ CHOICE
    11 New Books We Recommend This Week

    THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST
    Amy Schumer on ‘Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo’

    NONFICTION
    A Fascinating Deep Dive Into John Ashbery’s Early Years

    BY THE BOOK
    Carla Hayden: By the Book

    POETRY
    A Poetry Collection Born of Fury, Sex and Trauma

    ON POETRY
    What Does a Poet Know About War?

    POETRY
    Poetry in Action

    ENCOUNTERS
    Of Mice and Men Like Mick Jagger: A Literary Scion Tells All

    NEWSBOOK
    Missing the Eclipse? Read All About It

    INSIDE THE LIST
    A Final Mystery for Amelia Peabody, Egyptologist and Sleuth

    Paperback Row

    THE SHORTLIST
    Five Poets Offer Eloquent Views of the American Experience

    POETRY
    A Native American Poet Excavates the Language of Occupation

    OPEN BOOK
    Poets to Discover
    Loading...
    See next articles
    See previous articles
    Advertisement

    BOOK REVIEW | EGOS

    In the Long Run
    By MEGHAN DAUMMARCH 31, 2017
    Continue reading the main storyShare This Page
    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    Email
    More
    Save
    Photo

    Credit Loren Capelli
    What makes a story worthy of an entire book? This question arises frequently when I work with students who are writing memoirs, often after they’ve produced 20 pages of riveting prose about the most dramatic thing that ever happened to them only to find they’re out of things to say. When writing about yourself, it’s difficult enough to ease up on the pedal of self-flattery in the interests of truth. But to confront your story’s limitations head-on and admit it’s better suited to 20 pages than 220 pages can be a painful reckoning — though, as I tell my students, not nearly as painful as trying to spread a ho-hum back story into a thin layer across a whole book. As Stephen King said in his exemplary literary craft guide, “On Writing,” “The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn’t very interesting.”

    You’d think surviving horrific injuries in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, an attack that killed three and injured more than 250, would be enough for a book to practically write itself. But two memoirs out this month in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the tragedy, Roseann Sdoia’s PERFECT STRANGERS: Friendship, Strength, and Recovery After Boston’s Worst Day (PublicAffairs, $26) and Rebekah Gregory’s TAKING MY LIFE BACK: My Story of Faith, Determination and Surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing (Revell, $19.99), still struggle to eke out enough paint to cover the walls, despite help from seasoned co-authors.

    Sdoia, in collaboration with Jennifer Jordan, tries to work around this problem by framing her book as not just her own story but also those of three responders who helped save her life when the second of the two bombs blew off her right foot as she stood near the finish line on Boylston Street. Her eardrums blown out, Sdoia felt as if she were “inside a clear plastic bubble,” and the disconnect helps her avoid looking down at what’s left of her leg, “the shattered tibia and fibula like two broken broom handles, sticking out of my knee where my calf used to be, and my foot attached only by remaining pieces of muscle and skin.”

    Amid the carnage, Sdoia goes unnoticed at first, but then Shores Salter, a 20-year-old college student with alcohol on his breath from a day of bar crawling, drags her to a safer area and winds up using all his strength to hold a makeshift tourniquet to her knee. Sometime later, Shana Cottone, a Boston police officer, appears on the scene and stays with Sdoia until a ride to the hospital can be found in the form of a van meant for transporting criminals. From there, a firefighter named Mike Materia sends Salter on his way and takes over the tourniquet, keeping Sdoia alive along the bumpy route to Mass General.

    “Perfect Strangers” weaves the personal histories of these rescuers around the timeline of the author’s recovery. There are moments of genuine poignancy, for instance when Sdoia is reunited with Salter after an internet campaign helps track him down or when Sdoia is discharged from a rehabilitation hospital and met in the lobby by Materia, Cottone, Salter and a gaggle of caregivers before being escorted home by firefighters. “The Boston Fire Department brought you to the hospital, and we’re going to bring you home,” Materia tells her. The origin stories are meant to add color and context and even suggest that these heroes might have been destined to rise to this occasion. But they too often feel forced, almost like filler. Do we really need to know that Salter was a breech birth and “seemed to be born with a sense of concern, even worry, for those around him”? Must we make a direct connection between Cottone’s anger and fear around the 9/11 attacks, which happened when she was 15, and her later desire to become a cop?

    Continue reading the main story
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Continue reading the main story

    These details feel especially arbitrary given that Sdoia and Jordan choose to step around the elephant that barged into the hospital rooms of just about every victim of the marathon bombing: a news media so hungry for feel-good copy that many patients were forced to recover from grievous wounds under a glaring and relentlessly opportunistic spotlight. Though she refers occasionally to the special pressures and privileges of being part of a group of celebrity patients — there is a visit from President Obama, a ride on the Zamboni at Boston’s TD Garden, a People magazine photo shoot — Sdoia appears to view them as little more than minor asides, and maybe for good reason. As it happens, her recovery coincides with a cautiously blooming romance with Materia. She isn’t terribly forthcoming with the details, possibly because she’s contending with reporters determined to chart the course of the relationship before it can chart itself. But this is a couple you’d be crazy not to root for.

    Rebekah Gregory was another spectator who lost a leg in the attack (from what I could find, only one injured runner, Jeff Bauman, has written a book about the event). With her co-author, Anthony Flacco, Gregory shapes “Taking My Life Back” as a spiritual journey in which early life struggles are framed as preparation for the ultimate test of surviving the Boston Marathon. We learn about Gregory’s biological father, an emotionally abusive preacher and sometime casino dealer who eventually relinquished his custodial rights. We learn how she began to develop Christian faith as a child and became a single mom at 20 and was so overwhelmed with work and school that it took a near-fatal car accident to quiet her mind and deepen her faith.

    Newsletter Sign UpContinue reading the main story
    Book Review
    Be the first to see reviews, news and features in The New York Times Book Review.

    Sign Up

    You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services.

    SEE SAMPLE MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME
    The day of the marathon, Gregory was visiting Boston from Texas with her 5-year-old son, who sustained minor injuries and was probably saved by the protective shield of his mother’s body. Her leg was not amputated until more than a year later, and the agonizing fight to save it — she endures 17 bouts of surgery in the meantime — propels much of the first half of the book. When the limb is finally deemed not worth saving, Gregory composes a “breakup letter” to her leg and submits to her last operation. “For the rest of my recovery,” she writes, “I could stop trying to roll the boulder up the mountain.”

    Gregory does, however, drop a boulder on the reader well past the 100-page mark. She reveals that a casual long-distance relationship alluded to briefly in the first chapter became a source of media interest after the boyfriend, who was also injured in the bombing, though far less seriously, made a surprise marriage proposal during her recovery. The resulting frenzy prompted a bridal website to sponsor a “huge fantasy wedding in return for the photo and publicity rights to the whole event.” Spoiler alert: It didn’t work out. And note to aspiring memoirists — Gregory’s choice to “spare readers further details” about the marriage would have earned her a not-so-gentle prodding by even the most marginally competent writing instructor: You haven’t run out of things to say. You’re running away from them.

    Then there are cases when an author runs out of things to say about . . . running. This is the predicament of Jill Grunenwald, a stylish and sparkly writer who parlayed a blog and podcast into RUNNING WITH A POLICE ESCORT: Tales From the Back of the Pack (Skyhorse, $22.99). A longtime, highly committed couch potato, Grunenwald, at age 29, has reached 311 pounds and forces herself to take up running. The sport meets her expectations on every level, which is to say she both hates it and is terrible at it. But in a display of discipline and willpower thus far unprecedented in her life, she keeps it up and eventually enters a 5K race. She comes in dead last and is hooked.

    Grunenwald’s podcast, also called “Running With a Police Escort,” consists mainly of her interviewing other runners and making wry observations about being a slow runner (the title refers to being such a late finisher that you’re trailed only by the police officers bringing up the rear). The book is like the podcast without the other runners and with the banter transposed into clever but predictable bloggerisms — think “I can’t even” and “amirite?” — that convey a certain bounciness but do the author few literary favors. As the miles build up and the pounds come off, Grunenwald runs slowly and writes affably but ultimately delivers little more than a string of race reports. A broken bone (sustained, unceremoniously, in a cooking accident) gives the book a natural if underwhelming stopping point, and Grunenwald takes it like a champ — and also like an aspiring writer. Now instead of running the Akron Half Marathon she can attend the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., where Stephen King, a hero of hers, is giving the keynote address.

    “Funny how life works out, eh?” she writes.

    Life can certainly be surprising. That’s often how it works out. And when committed to paper, sometimes it works out best in a 20-page sprint.

    Meghan Daum’s latest book is “The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion.” Her column appears every eight weeks.

    A version of this article appears in print on April 2, 2017, on Page BR27 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Memoir. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

    Continue reading the main story

    We’re interested in your feedback on this page. Tell us what you think.
    TRENDING

    Stung North Korea Threatens Retaliation Against United States Over Sanctions

    Game of Thrones: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7, Episode 4: Daenerys Soars, Starks Endure

    Op-Ed Columnist: America’s Whiniest ‘Victim’

    What Music Do Americans Love the Most? 50 Detailed Fan Maps

    Many Politicians Lie. But Trump Has Elevated the Art of Fabrication.

    New York’s Subways Are Not Just Delayed. Some Trains Don’t Run at All.

    Trump Rules: Under Trump, Coal Mining Gets New Life on U.S. Lands

    Take the Generic, Patients Are Told. Until They Are Not.

    President Trump’s Lies, the Definitive List

    Op-Ed Columnist: What’s Next for Progressives?
    View More Trending Stories »

    What's Next
    Loading...
    Go to Home Page »
    SITE INDEX THE NEW YORK TIMES

    Site Index Navigation
    NEWS

    World
    U.S.
    Politics
    N.Y.
    Business
    Tech
    Science
    Health
    Sports
    Education
    Obituaries
    Today's Paper
    Corrections
    OPINION

    Today's Opinion
    Op-Ed Columnists
    Editorials
    Contributing Writers
    Op-Ed Contributors
    Opinionator
    Letters
    Sunday Review
    Taking Note
    Room for Debate
    Video: Opinion
    ARTS

    Today's Arts
    Art & Design
    Books
    Dance
    Movies
    Music
    N.Y.C. Events Guide
    Television
    Theater
    Video: Arts
    LIVING

    Automobiles
    Crossword
    Food
    Education
    Fashion & Style
    Health
    Jobs
    Magazine
    N.Y.C. Events Guide
    Real Estate
    T Magazine
    Travel
    Weddings & Celebrations
    LISTINGS & MORE

    Reader Center
    Classifieds
    Tools & Services
    Times Topics
    N.Y.C. Events Guide
    Blogs
    Multimedia
    Photography
    Video
    NYT Store
    Times Journeys
    Subscribe
    Manage My Account
    NYTCo
    SUBSCRIBE

    Home Delivery
    Gift Subscriptions
    Crossword
    Email Newsletters
    Alerts
    Corporate Subscriptions
    Education Rate
    Mobile Applications
    Replica Edition
    Site Information Navigation
    © 2017 The New York Times Company HomeSearchAccessibility concerns? Email us at accessibility@nytimes.com. We would love to hear from you.Contact UsWork With UsAdvertiseYour Ad ChoicesPrivacyTerms of ServiceTerms of SaleSite Information Navigation
    Site MapHelpSite FeedbackSubscriptions Go to the next story