Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas
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- Create Date：2021-01-13 04:20:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alexi Pappas
- ISBN：9781984801128
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Summary
The Olympic runner， actress， filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas shares what she’s learned about confidence， self-reliance， mental health， embracing pain， and achieving your dreams。
“Heartbreaking and hilarious。”—Mindy Kaling • “A beautiful read。”—Ruth Reichl • “Essential guidance to anyone dreaming big dreams。”—Shalane Flanagan • “I couldn’t put it down。”—Adam Grant
run like a bravey
sleep like a baby
dream like a crazy
replace can’t with maybe
When “Renaissance runner” （New York Times） Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete， actress， filmmaker， and writer—was four years old， her mother died by suicide， drastically altering the course of Pappas’s life and setting her on a search for female role models。 When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy， female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to， and her Olympic dream was born。 At the same time， Pappas had big creative dreams， too: She wanted to make movies， write， and act。 Despite setbacks and hardships， Pappas refused to pick just one lane。 She put in a tremendous amount of hard work and wouldn’t let anything stand in her way until she achieved all of her dreams， however unrelated they may seem to outsiders。 In a single year， 2016， she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote， directed， and starred in her first feature film。
But great highs are often accompanied by deep lows; with joy comes sorrow。 In Bravey， Pappas fearlessly and honestly shares her battle with post-Olympic depression and describes how she emerged on the other side as a thriving and self-actualized woman。 Unflinching， exuberant， and always entertaining， Bravey showcases Pappas’s signature， charming voice as she reflects upon the touchstone moments in her life and the lessons that have powered her career as both an athlete and an artist—foremost among them， how to be brave。
Pappas’s experiences reveal how we can all overcome hardship， befriend pain， celebrate victory， relish the loyalty found in teammates， and claim joy。 In short: how every one of us can become a bravey。
“Heartbreaking and hilarious。”—Mindy Kaling • “A beautiful read。”—Ruth Reichl • “Essential guidance to anyone dreaming big dreams。”—Shalane Flanagan • “I couldn’t put it down。”—Adam Grant
run like a bravey
sleep like a baby
dream like a crazy
replace can’t with maybe
When “Renaissance runner” （New York Times） Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete， actress， filmmaker， and writer—was four years old， her mother died by suicide， drastically altering the course of Pappas’s life and setting her on a search for female role models。 When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy， female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to， and her Olympic dream was born。 At the same time， Pappas had big creative dreams， too: She wanted to make movies， write， and act。 Despite setbacks and hardships， Pappas refused to pick just one lane。 She put in a tremendous amount of hard work and wouldn’t let anything stand in her way until she achieved all of her dreams， however unrelated they may seem to outsiders。 In a single year， 2016， she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote， directed， and starred in her first feature film。
But great highs are often accompanied by deep lows; with joy comes sorrow。 In Bravey， Pappas fearlessly and honestly shares her battle with post-Olympic depression and describes how she emerged on the other side as a thriving and self-actualized woman。 Unflinching， exuberant， and always entertaining， Bravey showcases Pappas’s signature， charming voice as she reflects upon the touchstone moments in her life and the lessons that have powered her career as both an athlete and an artist—foremost among them， how to be brave。
Pappas’s experiences reveal how we can all overcome hardship， befriend pain， celebrate victory， relish the loyalty found in teammates， and claim joy。 In short: how every one of us can become a bravey。
Editor Reviews
11/16/2020
In this strong debut， Olympian Pappas shares her inspiring life story of overcoming tragedy as a child to enjoy a flourishing， multifaceted career as an athlete， filmmaker， and actor。 Pappas， whose bipolar mother died by suicide when Pappas was five， grew up in Northern California with a loving father， older brother， and a stream of nannies。 In middle school， she began measuring her accomplishments by how much discomfort she could endure while running races （“Every race hurts， no matter what。 If anybody tells you otherwise they’re either lying or they simply don’t try hard enough”）。 This athletic ambition led to a scholarship at Dartmouth College and eventual acceptance into the 2016 Olympics as a long-distance runner。 Her experience as an athlete， in turn， inspired her to collaborate on her first film， 2012’s Tall as the Baobob Tree ， followed by two more films， Tracktown in 2016 and Olympic Dreams in 2019。 Along the way Pappas developed fresh ways of thinking about and viewing the world， and coined the neologism bravey as “a self-identifier for those who are willing to chase their dreams” while always being kind to themselves and never letting other people’s opinions define them。 Pappas’s extraordinary tale is skillfully told and profoundly inspiring。 （Jan。）
Reviews
NotoriousEAM
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I found Alexi Pappas lifestory compelling and her journey is one in which we can all relate。 Most of us will not compete in the Olympics like her but to push ourselves to be better， to achieve our goals and face life's obstacles head-on are worthy ideas for anyone。
Amy Eisenberg
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A warm， heartfelt and honest tale about Pappas’ highs and lows as she comes into her own。 She expertly weaves anecdotes from her life pre-Olympics and openly shares about the darkest days of her life。 Her story is captivating， authentic and brave。 A book for anyone looking for hope， wisdom， or looking to re-frame their perspective on life。 Alexi is not only a role model for young women trying to figure out their place in the world， she is a role model for us all as she demonstrates that perhaps A warm， heartfelt and honest tale about Pappas’ highs and lows as she comes into her own。 She expertly weaves anecdotes from her life pre-Olympics and openly shares about the darkest days of her life。 Her story is captivating， authentic and brave。 A book for anyone looking for hope， wisdom， or looking to re-frame their perspective on life。 Alexi is not only a role model for young women trying to figure out their place in the world， she is a role model for us all as she demonstrates that perhaps the most “bravey” thing of all is finding the courage to continue and the vulnerability to share the rough spots with the world。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Mala Bawer
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Loved it。 Couldn't put it down。 Loved it。 Couldn't put it down。 。。。more
Remy
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Heartfelt， honest， inspiring read that’s come out at the perfect time
Kari
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Bravey by Alexi Pappas is a collection of essays and poems reflecting on the author's life and experiences with depression and mental health， running， and her early career。 It's a bit difficult to nail down exactly what this book is about， but it encompasses what is means to be a bravey， Pappas describes a bravey as "a self-identifier for those who are willing to chase their dreams even though it can be intimidating or scary。" I've followed Alexi Pappas' career for a few years now。 It was surpri Bravey by Alexi Pappas is a collection of essays and poems reflecting on the author's life and experiences with depression and mental health， running， and her early career。 It's a bit difficult to nail down exactly what this book is about， but it encompasses what is means to be a bravey， Pappas describes a bravey as "a self-identifier for those who are willing to chase their dreams even though it can be intimidating or scary。" I've followed Alexi Pappas' career for a few years now。 It was surprising to learn how she struggled for many of the years I've seen her compete。 I appreciate her honesty in sharing about those early years of her career now that she's lived with depression and come out the other side。 While Pappas is a filmmaker and Olympian， her essays are deeply relatable。 Her reflections on her marathon debut and needing to reframe her goals reminded me of my own first marathon。 Living with depression in her early career is something many twenty-somethings， including myself， can relate to and learn from。 While she writes about how she has struggled， I also found this to be a joyful and uplifting book。 I would recommend this book to anyone in their twenties or college who is trying to figure out their life。 While anyone could benefit from reading this book， I would especially recommend it for athletes。 。。。more
Judy
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This book is as emotional， honest， straightforward as if you are having a heartfelt conversation with your best friend。 It is very well written and will keep your attention from the first page until the last。 The first couple of chapters that deal with the mentally ill mother sets the stage for you to pay attention to every detail， every word of this girl's journey。 Don't be surprised if you want to read 'one more chapter' as there never seems to be a good place to pause。 This book is as emotional， honest， straightforward as if you are having a heartfelt conversation with your best friend。 It is very well written and will keep your attention from the first page until the last。 The first couple of chapters that deal with the mentally ill mother sets the stage for you to pay attention to every detail， every word of this girl's journey。 Don't be surprised if you want to read 'one more chapter' as there never seems to be a good place to pause。 。。。more
Meg
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I wasn't aware of Alexi Pappas before reading this。 But her story instantly captivated me。 She's inspiring to young girls and I'd recommend this to teens and 20-somethings that need a little inspiration。 Alexi you have a new fan！Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley。 I wasn't aware of Alexi Pappas before reading this。 But her story instantly captivated me。 She's inspiring to young girls and I'd recommend this to teens and 20-somethings that need a little inspiration。 Alexi you have a new fan！Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley。 。。。more
Beth M。
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If you’ve been following me for any time， you know I have a growing love for memoirs。 Especially those that touch on mental health。 Especially those that aim to inspire。If you’re like me， you’ll definitely want to add BRAVEY to your TBR。 A memoir-in-essays by Olympic athlete and writer-filmmaker-actress Alexi Pappas， BRAVEY details the most intimate experiences of her life and also shares lessons learned while working toward her many and varied life goals。 Each essay explores a unique aspect of If you’ve been following me for any time， you know I have a growing love for memoirs。 Especially those that touch on mental health。 Especially those that aim to inspire。If you’re like me， you’ll definitely want to add BRAVEY to your TBR。 A memoir-in-essays by Olympic athlete and writer-filmmaker-actress Alexi Pappas， BRAVEY details the most intimate experiences of her life and also shares lessons learned while working toward her many and varied life goals。 Each essay explores a unique aspect of her life， from the world of elite competitive running to normal college experiences， from mental health and family loss to unexpected encounters with inspiring people。Many thanks to The Dial Press for gifting me this advance copy。 All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own。 BRAVEY is available for pre-order now and will be out in the world on January 12th！ 。。。more
Mandy Hazen
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What an inspirational book of someone who has gone through so much in life - overcome so much in their childhood and so much struggle with mental health with the family and herself。 I picked up this book thinking it was going to be a comedy and was not disappointed。 I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。
Lizenbyl
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Alexi did a wonderful job writing about her life， including the trauma that she experienced as a young girl with the suicide of her Mother。 I found the chapter on Maya Rudolph very enlightening。
Book Reviews By Tara
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When I received this advance digital copy， I had no idea who Alexi Pappas was。 Therefore， I knew nothing about her story。 I went into this book totally blind。 But， I wanted to read it for two reasons。 One， I like the cover， and two， Maya Rudolph wrote the Foreword。 I like Maya and I am/was a diehard supporter of her mother the late great Minni Riperton。 Although I went into this memoir without knowing much about the author。 I was 100% invested within the first few pages of reading the book。 An O When I received this advance digital copy， I had no idea who Alexi Pappas was。 Therefore， I knew nothing about her story。 I went into this book totally blind。 But， I wanted to read it for two reasons。 One， I like the cover， and two， Maya Rudolph wrote the Foreword。 I like Maya and I am/was a diehard supporter of her mother the late great Minni Riperton。 Although I went into this memoir without knowing much about the author。 I was 100% invested within the first few pages of reading the book。 An Olympic runner， actress， filmmaker and writer， at the age of four years old， Alexi’s mother died by suicide， drastically altering the course of her life。 In this book Alexi shares what she’s learned from her experiences， while offering advice on achieving your dreams。This is the most honest， heartfelt， transparent and emotionally vulnerable account of the affects mental illness and suicide can have on a child。 Not only is this memoir entertaining， but more importantly it is informative。 Alexi took me into her life and her emotions。 There were moments my heart wept for her。 Reading about her mother’s mental illness was gut wrenching。 She did a phenomenal job of capturing her emotions and the confusion she lived with， as a result of being a girl living without a mother。 Alexi’s vulnerability was also on full display as she wrote about her own battle with post-Olympic depression。 A topic very few athletes discuss。 She walked me through the entire journey， from beginning to end。 It was very eye opening。 But don’t get me wrong， this book definitely had moments that made my heart sing。 Reading how she overcame the issues of her past， and becoming an Olympic runner was inspiring。 I enjoyed this book from beginning to end。 It contained everything I look for in a great memoir。 I recommend this book for everyone， especially #YA readers， and anyone dealing with mental illness。 This book offers hope for a better tomorrow。 And that my friends， is why this book deserves 5⭐️s。 。。。more
Heather Fineisen
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Alexi Pappas is an interesting person。 Interesting enough to carry her book of self help and memoir。 Readers who are familiar with her role as Olympian an filmmaker will find even more joy in this book。 Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley
（a）lyss（a）
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