Bravey
run like a bravey
sleep like a baby
dream like a crazy
replace can't with maybe
Alexi Pappas' mother committed suicide when she was four years old, significantly changing the trajectory of her life and sending her on a never-ending hunt for female role models. When her father began signing her up for sports teams to keep his bereaved daughter busy, female athletes were among the first women Pappas looked up to, and she became a girl with a dream: to be an Olympian. Despite setbacks and adversity, Pappas clung to her dream, putting in tremendous mental and physical effort and letting nothing stand in her way until she achieved it, making her Olympic debut as a runner in 2016.
Unflinching, exuberant, and always entertaining, Bravey features Pappas's signature, endearing voice as she reflects on pivotal moments in her life and the lessons that have fueled her career as both an athlete and an artist—most notably, how to be brave. From high school awkwardness to post-Olympic depression, she faces obstacles with optimism and finds the dark moments as important to her process as the breakthroughs, offering valuable wisdom on the benefits of embracing what hurts, both physically and emotionally. Pappas defines courage as inward-looking; it's all about how you feel about yourself, and it's as much about believing in yourself as it is about sprinting for your ambitions.
Pappas' experiences demonstrate how anybody can overcome adversity, befriend suffering, enjoy success, appreciate teammates' commitment, and claim joy. In a nutshell: how everyone can be bold.
