by Fagan, Kate (Sports writer)
First published 2017
Kate Fagan explores the life and death of Madison Holleran, a nineteen-year-old University of Pennsylvania track athlete who took her own life during her freshman year. Fagan, an ESPN commentator and espnW columnist, originally wrote about Maddy as part of a profile piece but expanded her investigation when other college athletes reached out about their own mental health struggles. The book examines how Maddy's Instagram feed displayed a perfect existence at an Ivy League school, while privately she battled depression and considered transferring from her dream university. Fagan traces the mounting pressures facing young athletes today, particularly the demand for perfection amplified by constant social media connectivity. The story begins with Maddy's promising arrival at Penn as a recruited athlete and follows her decline through her parents' growing concerns about her withdrawal from family and activities. Fagan connects Maddy's individual tragedy to broader patterns of mental illness among college students and athletes, showing how the culture of achievement and online performance creates unbearable stress for young people.
Genres: psychology, mental-health, sports, non-fiction, biography-memoir, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: tragedy, true-story
Setting: University of Pennsylvania
Period: Freshman Year
320 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness, suicide