Book Review: A Beautiful Work in Progress

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In her book, A Beautiful Work in Progress, Mirna Valerio aka "Fat Girl Running" shares why she started running:

"I had a health wake-up call that brought attention to the fact that I was stymied physically and mentally, and I was on my way to an early death. I began to progress again, as I reacquainted myself with the forward movement that is running. In addition, my health returned, and my smile became genuine again."

Valerio, aka The Mirnavator, initially started blogging to share her experiences as a "fat girl who ran". She didn't think she was unique in her journey and she didn't want it to become a weight loss blog or a pity party. What she learned was that as an overweight, African-American runner, she was crushing all kinds of stereotypes and beliefs about overweight people. She also learned that she has a body that is amazing, strong, flexible, and agile. A body that can run all types of distances. Mirna's memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress is a celebration of her journey towards body acceptance and self-love.

You don't have to struggle with weight to relate to Mirna's journey.

While Mirna isn't blogging much anymore, a lot of what she shares in the book will be familiar to her blog readers. The book meanders through time, with race reports from various races she has participated in, including the Javelina Jundred. But to get to that race, Mirna takes the reader through her life journey, including transferring from her magnet school in the Bronx to an upstate New York elite all-girls boarding school. It was at that school where she ran her first mile after signing up for the field hockey team. She struggled with the intense training and decided that the only way to get better was to start running on her own. This is when she learned about "an absolute commitment to constant improvement".

Fast forward to adulthood and Mirna rediscovered the power of running. In 2011, she began training for the Marine Corps Marathon, which would be her first marathon. She completed in some shorter distance races. During one race she twisted her ankle but decided that a DNF wasn't going to happen and hobbled to the finish. She says: "I had to do this for the fat people. I had to do this for me. And I had to do this because I didn't want anybody thinking that the fat girl couldn't do it." 

Oh. my. gosh.

Throughout the book, I kept thinking to myself that we are all struggling with something. Mirna's story is just so powerful and inspiring. Against all odds, she's out there and she's doing it. Like a boss. Even if she's DFL, she's finishing and she is ok with that. Talk about perspective. Like so many of us, she learned the power that running has to transform our view of ourselves. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she sees herself as strong. She calls herself an athlete. And she invites all of us to see ourselves for what we can do, not what we can't do.

I really enjoyed this book. I found the book easy to read, as the chapters are written in a conversational style--I felt like I really got to know Mirna through the book. Actually, I'd really like to get to know Mirna IRL after reading this book. Her positivity and can-do attitude are just the kind of influence I need in my life.

If you like books that follow a timeline, you might not enjoy the race excerpts interspersed with personal experiences. That didn't bother me at all because the book flowed just like a conversation might. There is a great deal of running stories and race recaps, with a lot of detail, and non-runners might not find that as interesting as say, I did. On the other hand, if you are training for a tough race and you need a little motivation, Mirna's story will provide you with plenty. After reading this, I will never DNF again, at least not if I can move forward.

Mirna has had plenty of opportunities open to her with the success of her blog and now her book. She is a perfect example of the old adage "nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it". Do like Mirna says: to stop moving is to stop living and evolving towards being who we are destined to be. "I honor her (my body) but continuing to move along the spectrum of health and wellness, and in turn she honors me by living vibrantly."

You can find more Mirna at Women's Running Magazine or on her blog, Fat Girl Running. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. PS: The kindle version of A Beautiful Work in Progress in only 4.99!

What obstacles have you overcome or are you working on as you run? Do you find inspiration in stories like Mirna's? Who are you destined to be? 

As you know, I am no longer hosting a link up for book reviews. However, if you've written a review of Mirna's book and you'd like me to post a link to your blog, please email me at wendy (at) takinglongwayhome.com and I'll include it in this post!

Next month, we will be reading a funny one! Susan Lacke is a well-published freelance writer as well as an "unlikely" triathlete. Life's Too Short To Go So F*cking Slow is the story of a friendship between Lacke and an Ironman triathlete--he inspires her to go the distance. I enjoy Lacke's writing and I am really looking forward to this. I hope you don't let the f-bombs deter you!

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I'm linking up with the Friday 5.0--Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy.