Book Review: Bravey

Author: Alexi Pappas

Publication Date: January 12, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Book Description

“Renaissance runner” (The New York Times) Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete, actress, filmmaker and writer—shares what she’s learned about confidence, self-reliance, mental health, embracing pain, and achieving your dreams in this revealing and inspiring memoir-in-essays, with a foreword by Maya Rudolph.

run like a bravey

sleep like a baby

dream like a crazy

replace can’t with maybe

When Alexi Pappas was four years old, her mother died by suicide, drastically altering the course of Pappas’s life and setting her on a lifelong search for female role models. When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy, female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to, and her Olympic dream was born. At the same time, Pappas had big creative dreams, too: She wanted to make movies, write, and act. Despite setbacks and hardships, Pappas refused to pick just one lane. She put in a tremendous amount of hard work and wouldn’t let anything stand in her way until she achieved all of her dreams, however unrelated they may seem to outsiders. In a single year, 2016, she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote, directed, and starred in her first feature film.

But great highs are often accompanied by deep lows; with joy comes sorrow. In Bravey, Pappas fearlessly and honestly shares her battle with post-Olympic depression and describes how she emerged on the other side as a thriving and self-actualized woman. Unflinching, exuberant, and always entertaining, Bravey showcases Pappas’s signature, charming voice as she reflects upon the touchstone moments in her life and the lessons that have powered her career as both an athlete and artist—foremost among them, how to be brave.

Pappas’s experiences reveal how we can all overcome hardship, befriend pain, celebrate victory, relish the loyalty found in teammates, and claim joy. In short: how every one of us can become a Bravey.

Book Review

Bravey by Alexi Pappas is an inspiring memoir told in essays ranging from childhood to present day.

“Run like a Bravey
Sleep like a baby
Dream like a crazy
Replace can’t with maybe”

Alexi Pappas is an Olympic athlete, actress, filmmaker and writer. She discusses chasing her dreams and how she manages all her careers. When she was starting out most people wanted her to stick to one thing, but she kept working to accomplish all her dreams. Pappas discusses topics from her mother’s death and growing up to starting her career and her relationship with her now husband.

I loved the honesty and emotion in Bravey. Pappas discusses her struggles with depression in an open way that is easy to relate to. She shows that even someone that appears to have everything going for her still struggles. Pappas inspires readers to chase their dreams and not to let anything get them down. Pappas describes her mother’s death by suicide and how that has affected her throughout her life. Pappas female role models growing up were friends’ moms and athletes. I like how Pappas describes how hard she works as an athlete but also acknowledges that there is some ability she was born with. Pappas describes anxiety before races and feeling like she wasn’t good enough. In college, Pappas was not the best runner and it took her a few years to realize things like eating right and getting enough sleep were important to be a successful runner. Pappas discusses canceling her wedding and working on herself before focusing on her relationship. I really enjoyed Bravey and reading it felt like a friend telling me about their personal experiences. I loved reading about Pappas accomplishments, struggles she had to overcome along the way to accomplishing her goals, and advice to readers.

I highly recommend Bravey to Olympic fans or anyone looking for inspiration to accomplish their dreams. Bravey turned me into an Alexi Pappas fan.

Thank you Random House for gifting me this book. All opinions are my own.

About the Author

Alexi Pappas is an Olympic runner and an award-winning actor and writer. ​Alexi’s memoir-in-essays, “Bravey,” with a foreword by Maya Rudolph, was published on January 12, 2021 and was the number 1 new release in both the sports and film categories.

Alexi co-created and starred in the feature film OLYMPIC DREAMS alongside Nick Kroll, premiering at SXSW 2019. In 2016 Alexi co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the feature film TRACKTOWN with a cast including Rachel Dratch (“Saturday Night Live”) and Andy Buckley (“The Office”).

Alexi’s writing has been published in the New York Times, Lenny Letter, and many more. Alexi has been profiled on the cover of the New York Times Sports Page, in Rolling Stone, on NPR’s All Things Considered, and was also featured on the cover of Runner’s World Magazine’s 50th anniversary issue alongside Kevin Hart, named as one of the two faces of the “new boom” in running. 

A Greek-American, Alexi is the Greek national recordholder in the 10,000 meters with a personal best of 31:36 set at the Rio Olympics. Alexi graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College and also ran for the University of Oregon as a 5th year, leading the team to two NCAA victories.

Alexi’s athletic sponsors include Champion, Garmin, UCAN, Goodr, Nordic Naturals, Butcher Box, and Smoothie Box. 

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