Running With Angels: The Inspiring Journey of a Woman Who Turned Personal Tragedy into Triumph Over Obesity
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| Running With Angels: The Inspiring Journey of a Woman Who Turned Personal Tragedy into Triumph Over Obesity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The inspiring journey of a woman who turned personal tragedy into triumph over obesity
On a beautiful April morning in 2001, Pamela Hansen decided to do something she hadn't done for a very long time. She decided to walk. Fearful that she would not be able to take more than a few steps with her morbidly obese body, she was desperate to focus her attention on something other than the tragedies of her life - the death of an infant daughter, the cruel and debilitating autoimmune diseases that had attacked two other children, and finally the stillbirth of a son just a few weeks earlier. The first walk, which lasted just 10 minutes, was the beginning of an amazing journey that ultimately led to a 100-pound weight loss (without surgery or pills) and the fulfillment of her dream to run a marathon. In Running with Angels, Pam shares both her struggles and her success, using the marathon race as a metaphor for facing life's challenges. She candidly discusses the pain of living with obesity and the hopelessness that accompanies it. More important, she offers practical suggestions for anyone trying to reach a goal, particularly a goal of weight loss, and shows how small steps over time can help you realize your dreams. |
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| Reader Reviews Below Sorted by Newest First | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09-26-08 | 4 | (NA) |
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Isn't it wonderful when you find a book that makes you want to train to do a marathon as well? For years that had been this woman's goal, but her personal life was full of so much heartbreak it was impossible for her to spend anytime on herself. Pamela's story is very personal and real, something to which I imagine anyone could relate. She is a real woman with a real family and real problems, though I don't admit to have experienced the same tragedies she did.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-24 01:51:37 EST)
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| 09-21-07 | 2 | 1\3 |
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I picked up this book at the Library the other day. It is really terribly sad what this woman and her family has struggled through, however, I thought it was too much about her "loss" of children and not about her weight "loss". I really sympathize with her tragedies and wonder how one can truly hold it together while dealing with life. However, the reason I got the book was for its "journey of a woman struggling with obesity". While reading the back cover of the book it focuses and leads the reader to believe that the book is about trying to reach goals, particularly weight loss goals, and her struggles and successes with weight. I think this book is best as a self help book for families dealing with losses and not a weight loss book. The whole Mormon religion/blessings throughout the book was a bit too much for me as well. Pass.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-09-27 02:21:08 EST)
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| 03-09-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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Don't read this book without some tissues! Loved it, loved it, loved it!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-09-22 02:03:20 EST)
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| 03-08-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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Don't read this book without some tissues! Loved it, loved it, loved it!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-04-11 02:22:04 EST)
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| 09-20-06 | 5 | (NA) |
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To me this book was not so much about losing weight, grieving and running as about setting goals and doing your best to reach them even when it's hard. It's also about making time for yourself, prioritizing, having a postive self image, and just doing the best that you can. I enjoyed the book all except after she lost 50 pounds, it stopped telling the story and started talking for a long time about random stories of how she felt when people looked at her, etc. It seemed out of place and too long but that may be because I don't have those kind of feelings. I'm sure a lot of other people would relate to the stories. Over all it's very good and inspiring and I would recommend it to any woman even if they weren't struggling with weight.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-09 02:23:08 EST)
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| 07-31-06 | 5 | (NA) |
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This was a wonderful book. I could'nt put it down.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-09-13 02:30:21 EST)
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| 06-14-06 | 5 | (NA) |
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I read the book that Pamela Hansen has written, Running with Angels, and I thought that it was a very beautiful book. We are in a book club at our church and we read it for that. I felt it pull my heartstrings because I am a very obese person myself. I have started walking with my children. They are still young, so they can go a long way. I do struggle everyday, just like Pam did. It was a lovely book, I suggest it a must to read to anyone. 5 stars!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-01 02:24:27 EST)
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| 04-06-06 | 5 | (NA) |
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I loved the book. I too am in a battle with weight loss and have successfully lost over 100 pounds. Pam does an amazing job at putting words to the emotions I know that I have felt and she has felt as well!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 22:46:53 EST)
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| 02-27-06 | 5 | 1\1 |
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This book had me from the beginning. I received this book as a gift because I like to run. Pam has an unbelievable story, very touching. She brings you in and you are part of her world. You strugle with her, triumph with her, and feel what she is feeling. It is a great, inspirational story for anyone (not just those who are overweight).
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 22:46:53 EST)
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| 06-28-05 | 4 | 6\6 |
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To be totally honest, I probably would have given 3.5 stars if that was possible with Amazon's rating system. I enjoyed the book, but there were some things that I wish that writer Pam Hansen had done differently. But I will not take away any of her accomplishments...as she is truly a fighter and she sounds like a wonderful mother and wife.
First off, the cover is one of the truely great covers on a book. It is a remarkable cover and I love it. It shows a runner running by a lake with a reflection of two kids running, following, after her. This is one of the few covers which can really tell the whole story. Bravo. The book deals with the Authors tragedies and obesity over the past 20 years. One of her children died one day after being born due to complications...the other child was a stillborn. She has two other kids that have suffered greatly through two separate medical conditions. It is heartbreaking. She spends a good deal of the first third of the book discussing how she dealt with these tragedies. I cannot imagine what she went through, what her husband went through and what her family went through. The next two-thirds of the book deal with her obesity. It is told through stories of the humiliation that she felt and how she struggled to deal with her weight gain. She then discusses how she began to lose the weight. Good stuff. My biggest problem is that I wanted to hear about her weight gain and her weight loss, but I wanted more time spent on how running helped her deal with the loss of her children. It is briefly discussed...but I wanted to learn more about how the family coped with these losses. She provides a lot of strength to people dealing with being over-weight, I just wished she had spent more time discussing how to cope with the loss of family. I sometimes felt that the story was a mish-mash collection of stories of when she was over-weight. It often felt dis-jointed and out of sync. But, with that said, I enjoyed how she started each chapter off with a progression of her running the SLC marathon. It was a nice tool to bring the story together and see her progress. The book is worth a read and I will recommend it to others. Pam Hansen and her husband have had a lot of struggles. I was impressed how they stuck together and got through the loss of kids and the weight loss struggle. It was a nice effort and a good read. Well done. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 22:46:53 EST)
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| 05-24-05 | 5 | 2\2 |
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I loved this book, it is so good to see how some one can overcome such tragadies, and make the changes Pam has made. A must read for any one trying to overcome obesity!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 22:46:53 EST)
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| 04-19-05 | 5 | 2\2 |
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Easy to read, Inspiring to those of us who are trying to overcome obstacles in our lives. I would recommond this to everyone! She also was on weight watcher!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 22:46:53 EST)
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