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    Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness
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    Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness
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    Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness
    Ebook275 pages4 hours

    Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness

    By Suzy Favor Hamilton

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness, and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition, but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind.

    During the 1990s, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner, a major sports apparel spokesperson, and a happily married wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth: manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her obsession to perform and win. For years after leaving the track, Suzy wrestled with her condition, as well as the loss of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career. After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual, Suzy embarked on a new path, and assumed a new identity. Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength and independence and a desire she couldn’t tamp down, she became a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as “Kelly.”

    But Suzy could not keep her double life a secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy finally got the proper medical help she needed. In this startling frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically controlling her body learned to come to terms with her unstable mind. It is the story of a how a supreme competitor scored her most important victory of all—reclaiming her life from the ravages of an untreated mental illness. Today, thanks to diagnosis, therapy, Kelly has stepped into the shadows, but Suzy is building a better life, one day at a time. Sharing her story, Suzy is determined to raise awareness, provide understanding, and offer inspiration to others coping with their own challenges.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 14, 2015
    ISBN9780062346216
    Author

    Suzy Favor Hamilton

    Suzy Favor Hamilton is a three-time Olympian for women's middle distance running. She is a sought-after public speaker—addressing eating disorders, mental illness, and the struggles that young athletes face—as well as a yoga instructor. Favor Hamilton lives in California and Wisconsin.

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    Reviews for Fast Girl

    3/5

    36 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I saw Suzy Favor Hamilton speak about this book on a recent episode of 20/20 and the story was so crazy I had to read more. Suzy was a runner who competed at two Olympics where she failed to seal the deal at clutch time. When all of the world's eyes were upon her she came in last in both Olympic races. Humiliated, she came home to Wisconsin with her husband and young daughter and became the number 2 escort in Las Vegas. Her undiagnosed bipolar depression took off on Zoloft and caused her to have hyper sex drive. I get the whole bipolar thing but her husbands reaction of sure go to Las Vegas, sleep with whoever you want, floors me. He even bought her a condo so she could live there. After reading this book I found out that I am pretty naive about what is going on in Las Vegas. Although I am left shaking my head, it is a fast past story and does spread the message that mental disorders are not stigmatizing and there is help available.
    • 5/5
      The book was fairly well written and a fairly fast reading experience. Growing up in the Badger State and living here most of my life, I am very familiar with Ms. Hamilton's accomplishments in the world of competitive running. As with others who became aware of her story, her revelations were shocking, demolishing the "good girl" impression most everyone had of her.

      Her description of her battle with bi-polar syndrome helped me understand the disease itself. After reading her book, I realized that in my younger days, I dated a couple of young women that I now believe, though never confirmed, showed behaviors that likely indicated they were battling bi-polar, although it would never have been titled as that 40 years ago.

      As for those those who have no sympathy for Ms. Favor, I don't think anyone out there can say that they do not have some kind of demons they battle - admittedly with Ms. Hamilton, they manifested themselves in a horrible manner - but many of us are able to keep those demons well hidden away because we are able to. But having known several people years ago with this disorder, and currently friends two fathers with sons being treated for, but battling this disease, along with one whose son committed suicide, I know the devastation it can cause.

      I give kudos to Ms. Hamilton for having the courage to put her story out there. Certainly many who read the book will do so out of a prurient interest - but they will be very sadly disappointed with the lack of explicit details. The book is about bi-polar disease and the difficulty of diagnosing and treating it, not really about sex - although the sex side of Ms. Hamilton's actions cannot be glossed over without diminishing the story of how bi-polar causes people to act.

      Ms. Hamilton could have picked up her family and tried to run away and hide from the public but chose to face the heat and get her story out there in hopes of helping others try to figure out/understand what may be going on with their loved ones or friends. If this book results in saving just one person, then it is certainly a success story.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      An interesting look into an unbelievable true story. The author provides insight into how bipolar mania presents in destructive behavior. However, it is more titillating than self-reflective.

      2 people found this helpful