Athlete’s new book explores trauma, generational pull of addiction
Vicki Ash Hunter’s “Running and Returning” is ultimately a story of hope
(June 21, 2022) – Running and Returning – Seeking Balance in an Imperfect World, a memoir from endurance runner Vicki Ash Hunter, Ph.D., is now available from CG Sports Publishing. The book tells Hunter’s family’s story through the lens of trauma and addiction, focusing on her own, her mother’s, and her daughter’s struggles.
The book opens with a harrowing chapter detailing a life-threatening and life-altering car accident Hunter experienced when she was pregnant with her first daughter, Jade. Hunter recovered but in many ways was forever changed, and she questions the role the accident played in Jade’s future: Could the traumatic pregnancy have contributed to Jade’s eventual turn to drugs?
Hunter also takes a hard look at her mother’s depression and dependence on both food and drugs and how growing up around such influences may have contributed to Vicki’s own obsession with exercise, which began once she started running longer and longer distances.
“I want that feeling of joy, calm, and satisfaction that I get from running,” she says in the book. “The problem is, it doesn’t last. So I need to run, again, and again, and again.”
Hunter is an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon (1988), and her running resume is stacked with some of the most elite and iconic races in the country, including the Boston and Pike’s Peak marathons. Now in her 60s, Hunter continues to compete, often outrunning much younger competition.
“Everyone has the potential to become an addict to something,” Hunter says in the book, and yet by the final chapter, she has painted a picture of hope as she finds balance in her own life, and Jade has found health and happiness. While her mother didn’t live long enough to experience it, Hunter says she, too, in her final years, was on her way to ratzo v’shov, as it’s known in Judaism, the spiritual act of running in its many forms and returning to appreciation grounded in self-love.
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Order Running and Returning. Contact publishing@cgsportsmanagement.com for bulk orders.
About Vicki Ash Hunter, Ph.D. Vicki Ash Hunter relies on running to satisfy her competitive nature and keep her body and mind healthy and strong. She credits running with her survival after horrific accidents and injuries and today works with athletes of all abilities to help them move better. She is a certified Foundation Training coach. Follow her on social media: Instagram, LinkedIn
About CG Sports Publishing CG Sports Publishing is in the storytelling business. Founded as part of The CG Sports Company in 2019, CG Sports Publishing brings athlete-focused titles to the marketplace. Follow on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn.
