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Good for a Girl

My Life Running in a Man's World - WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023

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Good for a Girl

By: Lauren Fleshman
Narrated by: Lauren Fleshman
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About this listen

 WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

Good for a Girl is a joyful love letter to the running life, a raw personal narrative of growth and change, and gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete
Lauren Fleshman was of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, before becoming a coach for elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen how our sports systems fail young women and girls as much as empower them.

Part memoir, part manifesto, Good for a Girl is Fleshman's story of falling in love with running as a girl, battling devastating injuries and self-doubt, and daring to fight for a better way for female athletes.

'Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a long time. With Good for a Girl we finally have one' Malcolm Gladwell

'Fleshman manages to deliver a sporting manifesto while also being a fine and engaging writer . . . There is a raw honesty at the heart of Good for a Girl' THE TIMES

'Needs to be read by anyone involved in women's sport' Adharanand Finn, author of The Rise of the Ultra Runners

'This is the book we've been waiting for' Kate Fagan, author of What Made Maddy Run

'A call to action in how we think about girls and women in elite sports' Emily Oster, bestselling author of Crib Sheet

'The invitation to have a long overdue conversation for a long overdue cultural shift' Alysia Montaño, Olympian, co-founder of &Mother, and author of Feel-Good Fitness

Good for a Girl was announced winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 30.11.2023
Good for a Girl was a no. 13 New York Times nonfiction bestseller 29.01.2023
Good for a Girl was listed in the Financial Times Best Sports Books of 2023 04.12.2023©2023 Lauren Fleshman Gender Studies Running & Jogging Social Sciences Sports Women Health

Critic Reviews

A close-up look at the uncertain and often unhealthy climb toward stardom for women in organized sports . . . The rawness of Good for a Girl serves as a push to demand that the next crop of female athletes has it better
Fleshman manages to deliver a sporting manifesto while also being a fine and engaging writer ... There is a raw honesty at the heart of Good for a Girl
I tore through Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl. This is the book we've been waiting for: a coming-of-age story, told from inside our broken sports system-a system that was not built for the young athletes inside it, and certainly not for young women. Lauren's story is clear-eyed, passionate, nuanced, and unflinching; it will change the way you look at sports (Kate Fagan, author of What Made Maddy Run)
This book breaks open the door for caged conversations to protect the health and integrity of growing athletes. It not only needs to be in the hands of women-identifying athletes, but also their peers, coaches, and parents. It is the invitation to have a long overdue conversation for a long overdue cultural shift (Alysia Montaño, Olympian, co-founder of &Mother, and author of Feel-Good Fitness)
Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a very long time, and with Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl we finally have one (Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and David and Goliath)
Good for a Girl is much more than a great running memoir. It's a remarkably candid tale of self-doubt and self-belief; of entrepreneurship, family, money, competition, and-importantly-female physiology. (Turns out women are not just smaller men!) It's an important book that also happens to be a page-turner (David Epstein, bestselling author of Range and The Sports Gene)
Good for a Girl is simultaneously a moving memoir and a call to action in how we think about-and train-girls and women in elite sports. It's a must-read-for anyone who loves running, for anyone who has a daughter, and for anyone who cares about creating a better future for young women (Emily Oster, author of Expecting Better, Cribsheet, and The Family Firm)
If someone held a gun to my head and said 'Run,' I'd say, 'Nah, just shoot me.' And yet I could not put down Lauren Fleshman's thoughtful, elegant memoir: a necessary look at what women endure and deserve from the sports they devote their lives to (Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply)
Part memoir, part critique of a sports system built around a man's body, Fleshman offers a searingly candid look at her own victimhood and complicity, interlaced with compelling data and concrete ideas on how we can change this environment . . . Fleshman is an undeniably masterful storyteller, owning her own complicity in the system while holding others accountable, in a loving and nuanced way
All stars
Most relevant
As an ex pro athlete myself it was like reading my diary or that of every young woman I came up with through the elite sporting ranks. Thus book is EXCELLENT
Entertaining, interesting, engaging and ACCURATE

Excellent in Every Way

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I don’t usually listen to Audiobooks but this was awesome. I was so drawn in by your story. I am a middle aged woman who didn’t run until after I had children but I think young women should read the book.

Amazing to hear your story

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I loved this story, well done to Lauren. I’ve always had a particular interest in running stories as a recreational runner myself but hearing about the challenges women face, particularly from a physiological stand point when it comes to sport and how these still need to be addressed, combined with the toxic culture pushing eating disorders (even if it’s not realised at this time). I found this honest, interesting as well as educational. I always prefer audiobooks read by the author as well, I feel like they’re telling me their story how it’s meant to be told.

Great story about running, women’s challenges in sport, sports physiology, and disordered eating

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Thank you for writing this book which is a great insight on what is happening on young woman. I bought the hard copy to my daughter and I look forward to the conversation I hope it will create.

Thank you

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