Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360310 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 211 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Don't dismiss this as just another weight-loss memoir. Yes, first-time author Hansen does describe the long road she traveled in losing 100 pounds through diet and exercise (no surgeries, diet pills or quick fixes here). But even more affecting is the story about why she gained the weight in the first place: her struggles with food began when she was recovering from the grief of losing an infant daughter to a rare heart defect. As Hansen increasingly turned to food for comfort, she imagined that its solace would help her get through the dark days after the tragedy. Little did she know that the next years would be filled with more heartache: two of her other daughters were diagnosed with crippling auto-immune disorders, and another infant was stillborn. Hansen shares how her Mormon faith helped her feel close to Christ even in these excruciating circumstances, and taught her to look forward to a future reunion with her family in heaven. Shortly after that last terrible loss, she began walking every day and gradually lost the pounds through the help of Weight Watchers and, eventually, marathon running. Readers will enjoy cheering her on toward the finish line even as they reach for the Kleenex to wipe away tears of compassion. (Apr.)
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About the Author
Pamela H. Hansen grew up in Salt Lake City. She graduated from Brigham Young University in elementary education. Although the majority of her life as a mother has been spent at home, she has taught first and second grades, as well as adult ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. She lives with her husband, Mark, in Orem, Utah, where they are raising five children. She has completed two marathons.

Customer Reviews

Not so good
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.

Wonderful, very moving....
Don't read this book without some tissues! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Inspiring
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.