Alexi Pappas had already made a name for herself as a runner, actor, filmmaker, and writer and her memoir – at 30 – has drawn kudos for the revelations of her inner self and how her mother's suicide when she wasn't yet five impacted her.
She opened up about it in a column for The New York Times talking about depression and other details of her life in the book Bravey, and as she makes the tour of newspapers, radio and media outlets.
The California was an All-American runner for Dartmouth and, with dual citizenship, represented Greece in the 2016 Olympics in the 10,000 meters and set a national record, hoping to compete in the Tokyo 2021 Games if COVID-19 allows.
She told NPR's Ari Shapiro that the book's title came from a poem she wrote: “Run like a bravey, sleep like a baby, dream like a crazy, replace can't with maybe.”
He said it was fitting: “I think of Alexi Pappas as someone fiercely focused on hugely ambitious external goals. But in this book, she turns that focus inward to examine her childhood, her family and her own mind.”