For readers who enjoyed Alexandra Heminsley's Running like a Girl and Bryony Gordon's Mad Girl, Running for my Life is a hilarious, heartfelt and inspirational story of one woman's marathon journey through mental illness.
Throughout her life, Rachel Cullen followed a simple yet effective route straight to mental health misery. Suffering from bipolar disorder, and hungry for approval at any price, she settled for flunked relationships, an ill-fitting career, and poor health to match. Whilst mindlessly seeking a utopian vision of 'normality' that she was mis-sold and so desperate to achieve, the solution seemed increasingly illusive.
Stuck in this endless cycle of disappointment with her life, and not knowing how to handle the strain of her mental illness, she put on a pair of old trainers. She'd never been able to think of herself as a 'runner', and the first time she forced herself out the door, she knew it would hurt. Everywhere. She just didn't realise how much it would heal her, too.
Interspersed with Rachel's real diary entries, from tortuous teen years to eventually running the London Marathon,Running for my Life will make you laugh, cry, and question whether you really can outrun your demons.

Rachel Cullen is a writer, blogger, author and runner. She is also a reformed ex-commercial litigation solicitor. Amongst other things, she has abseiled off Table Mountain, jumped out of a plane at 11,000ft, climbed Mount Fuji, worked on a game reserve in South Africa, qualified as a scuba diver and ridden an ostrich. This is her first book, detailing her very personal journey from bipolar non-runner to medal-winning marathon runner - and how she discovered happiness along the way.
Follow Rachel on Twitter @writtenbyrach and read her blog at rachelcullenwrites.co.uk - she would love to hear from you.