First published 2015
Suzy Favor Hamilton opens her life to examination in this raw memoir about mental illness and double identities. The three-time Olympian dominated middle distance running during the 1990s while projecting an image of wholesome American athleticism. Behind her success lay undiagnosed bipolar disorder that fueled both her competitive drive and her eventual downfall. After retiring from track, Hamilton struggled with depression, grief over a friend's death, and conflicted feelings about marriage and motherhood. A doctor's misdiagnosis led to medication that triggered hypersexuality and mania. Hamilton then created an alternate identity as Kelly, working as a high-priced escort in Las Vegas. When her double life became public, she spiraled toward suicide. With her husband's support, Hamilton finally received proper treatment for her bipolar disorder. She chronicles her journey from athletic glory through mental health crisis to recovery, showing how she learned to manage her unstable mind after years of controlling her body through sport.
Genres: autobiography, mental-illness, sports, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: double-identity, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Las Vegas
Period: 1990s
208 pages · Kindle Edition · Dey Street Books
Content warnings: mental-illness, sexual-content, suicide