BRAVEY (ADAPTED FOR YOUNG READERS)

A pared-down version of the writer, filmmaker, and Olympic athlete’s journeys through childhood, adolescence, and adult depression.

“Run like a bravey / sleep like a baby / dream like a crazy / replace can’t with maybe.” With inspirational poems slipped between and occasionally within chapters, Greek American Pappas’ inwardly focused memoir takes her from her mother’s suicide when she was 4 through recovery from the clinical depression and anxiety that descended in the wake of her record-breaking 10,000-meter race in the 2016 Olympic Games. Most of the graphic language and descriptions in the 2021 adult original have been edited out, and there are some new or thoroughly reworked passages along with the addition of a new foreword by actor Maya Hawke and summary insights at each chapter’s end. These changes have the effect of purposely refocusing the work on themes of particular relevance for adolescent readers, such as navigating childhood with a supportive but laissez-faire single parent, choosing role models, setting goals (specifically, but not exclusively, athletic ones), and working toward them without burning out or incurring permanent injury. The author barely mentions her films, her Olympics experiences, or any other specific biographical events unless they bear directly on some point she’s making. She writes clearly and forcefully about what helped her, and could help young readers, carry on in the face of trauma, sexism, and other challenges.

Incisive, personal, and usefully reworked.