What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen

Kate Fagan

Aug 2017 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

The heartbreaking story of college athlete Madison Holleran, whose life and death by suicide reveal the struggle of young people suffering from mental illness today in this #1 New York Times Sports and Fitness bestseller.

If you scrolled through the Instagram feed of 19-year-old Maddy Holleran, you would see a perfect life: a freshman at an Ivy League school, recruited for the track team, who was also beautiful, popular, and fiercely intelligent. This was a girl who succeeded at everything she tried, and who was only getting started. But when Maddy began her long-awaited college career, her parents noticed something changed. Previously indefatigable Maddy became withdrawn, and her thoughts centered on how she could change her life. In spite of thousands of hours of practice and study, she contemplated transferring from the school that had once been her dream.

When Maddy's dad, Jim, dropped her off for the first day of spring semester, she held him a second longer than usual. That would be the last time Jim would see his daughter. What Made Maddy Run began as a piece that Kate Fagan, a columnist for espnW, wrote about Maddy's life. What started as a profile of a successful young athlete whose life ended in suicide became so much larger when Fagan started to hear from other college athletes also struggling with mental illness.

This is the story of Maddy Holleran's life, and her struggle with depression, which also reveals the mounting pressures young people -- and college athletes in particular -- face to be perfect, especially in an age of relentless connectivity and social media saturation.

Ratings and reviews

Kate has provided amazing insight into such an important topic. The pressure of perfection places an incredible amount of unneeded stress on kids at a very important time. Make sure you read this book!

I lost my daughter to suicide and although their situations were completely different in every way, it's the horrible struggles, the hopelessness & the horrific aftermath that they both suffered & left behind. I’ve done as must research on suicide since 2014 I can, and if only I had known then what I know now. Two beautiful, athletic, intelligent and loving daughters, sibling, etc. Suicide doesn’t just kill you, it kills everyone who loves you as well. I will never be the same and with suffer unbearably for the rest of my life. This audiobook is narrated in perfect form, & is completely captivating. I am so terribly sad for her family & everyone who loves her. May God give them strength & at least some form of peace.

About the author

Kate Fagan is an Emmy award-winning journalist and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddy Run, which was longlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award. She currently works for Meadowlark Media and writes for Sports Illustrated, and previously spent seven years as a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her wife, Kathryn Budig, and their two dogs.