A fast-paced, insightful, positive account by a world-class runner.
A former top model recounts becoming an ultramarathon runner in this debut memoir.
“I’m not interested in running,” writes Graglia. “I want to push myself beyond…ultra running…beyond running.” The author’s life is in many ways one of extremes. Raised in Taggia, Italy, he worked in his family’s floral export business until a split with his girlfriend when he was in his 20s led him to search for a new life in America. In 2007, he flew to Miami, where he was spotted by the owner of a prestigious modeling agency. He was catapulted into a dazzling new career that saw him shot by the renowned photographer Steven Klein and in his downtime dancing on a table at a concert next to P. Diddy. Graglia later became jaded by the life of excess and sexual harassment that came with modeling and yearned for a change after contemplating suicide. Stumbling across a book on ultrarunning led him to train for the Keys 100, which demanded running 160 miles per week. Overcoming numerous setbacks, the author describes honing himself into an exceptional athlete who would go on to win the infamous Badwater Ultramarathon. Graglia’s memoir energetically fluctuates between describing his earlier days of hedonism (“This was à la Scarface when Tony Montana has a mountain of coke on a platter”) and his bond with nature forged later as a runner: “You’ll never forget when you popped out of that trail and a glacier opened up in front of you.” The author’s writing brims with optimism: “What I learned in the process is that you can transform yourself. You can reinvent yourself as many times as you want. That’s the beauty of the American spirit, and it had always attracted me.” But he is prone to repeating himself, such as referring to his one-man tent as a “coffin” more than once. Fans of ultrarunning may also be disappointed not to read a more up-to-date account of Graglia’s career—his 2018 Badwater victory is only mentioned briefly in the epilogue and his momentous 2020 Moab 240 win is not covered. Still, the author’s salacious insider view of the fashion industry, coupled with his enthusiastic discussion of ultrarunning, makes this a unique and compelling read that may inspire others to seek personal change.
A fast-paced, insightful, positive account by a world-class runner.Pub Date: May 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-54-452117-6
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Houndstooth Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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