Author Description

Aubrey gives an intimate look at the world of Division I athletics and a woman's experience with trauma and mental health issues at the Division I level. Mariel Gates renders this harrowing and trying world in an honest and beautifully tragic narrative. The main protagonist, Aubrey, is a runner at an elite university. She is trying to maintain her place on the team, the right body shape for a distance runner, and at the same time she has to fight the system that lets her down. One night she encounters tragedy at the hands of a fellow student athlete, and instead of finding justice, Aubrey finds that she is alone in her struggle. Aubrey brings the reader inside the competitive and often damaging world of elite athletics. Aubrey's strength and resilience is a story that needs to be heard and needs to help change the culture of Division I sports for women.