Jog On: How Running Saved My Life
Written by Bella Mackie
Narrated by Bella Mackie
4/5
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About this audiobook
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘Bella’s brilliant love letter to running turns into an extraordinarily brave and frank account of her battle with anxiety. A compassionate and important book’ Joe Lycett
‘Perfect for resetting a glum January mindset’ Alexandra Heminsley
‘My kind of role model’ Ben Fogle
Divorced and struggling with deep-rooted mental health problems, Bella Mackie ended her twenties in tears. She could barely find the strength to get off the sofa, let alone piece her life back together. Until one day she did something she had never done of her own free will – she pulled on a pair of trainers and went for a run.
That first attempt didn’t last very long. But to her surprise, she was back out there the next day. And the day after that. She began to set herself achievable goals – to run 5k in under 30 minutes, to walk to work every day for a week, to attempt 10 push-ups in a row. Before she knew it, her mood was lifting for the first time in years.
In Jog On, Bella explains with hilarious and unfiltered honesty how she used running to battle crippling anxiety and depression, without having to sacrifice her main loves: booze, cigarettes and ice cream. With the help of a supporting cast of doctors, psychologists, sportspeople and friends, she shares a wealth of inspirational stories, research and tips that show how exercise often can be the best medicine. This funny, moving and motivational book will encourage you to say ‘jog on’ to your problems and get your life back on track – no matter how small those first steps may be.
Bella Mackie
Bella Mackie has written for the Guardian, Vogue and Vice. She is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Jog On. This is her first novel.
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Reviews for Jog On
44 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I found this book so interesting and it helped inspire me! I am already a (very) amateur runner but this helped me get out and go further on days when I really didn’t want to. Her honesty about her mental health was refreshing, and as someone who suffers from anxiety, I found this so engaging and such a valuable read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Incredible! Relatable & made me laugh, cry and feel emotions I never knew I had. I don’t feel alone in my own head anymore. Thank you.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I haven't read this book or even know it's title. But aren't they all the same. I was a chronic obese alcoholic.. I hated my life and myself. I never had any interest in running. One day I entered a 5k race by mistake, (my car was parked nearby). I hated it. I had forgotten my sneakers and only had wooden clogs my estranged mother gifted me after her trip to Holland. I was couldn't breathe, my head actually exploded like that guy in Scanners. One arm fell off and I was only spared embarrassment because I wore a nappy instead of running shorts by mistake. I was shocked to learn I had run it in 5 minutes. Now I run all the time. Big deal, but a publisher said if I didn't write my inspirational story, they would give it to the runner standing next to me .
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I wanted to read this book as I've reached a bit of a running plateau (i.e. I'm not running any faster or further and I still want to stop most of the way through). In other words, I was looking for an injection of inspiration. This wasn't really it. In 360 pages Bella Mackie finds lots of different ways to say 'go out and exercise - it does your mind good'. A lot of this book was devoted to what it's like dealing with anxiety or depression (but more so the former), which I guess is to be expected from the title, but it's not something I greatly suffer from so it was only mildly interesting. There are a lot of books and magazine articles out there these days on the themes of anxiety and depression, so nothing felt particularly new in her information. I do agree that regular exercise makes you feel generally chirpier, but I didn't need to read this book to find that out.Mackie refers to a few interesting running books - perhaps they will offer more of what I was looking for.3 stars - well written, but perhaps something more of interest if you are specifically struggling to deal with anxiety.