Customer Reviews

Running with Angels: The Inspiring Journey of a Woman Who Turned Personal Tragedy Into Triumph Over Obesity

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To be totally honest, I probably would have given 3.5 stars if that was possible with Amazon's rating system. I enjoyed the book, but there were some things that I wish that writer Pam Hansen had done differently. But I will not take away any of her accomplishments...as she is truly a fighter and she sounds like a wonderful mother and wife.

First off, the cover is one of the truely great covers on a book. It is a remarkable cover and I love it. It shows a runner running by a lake with a reflection of two kids running, following, after her. This is one of the few covers which can really tell the whole story. Bravo.

The book deals with the Authors tragedies and obesity over the past 20 years. One of her children died one day after being born due to complications...the other child was a stillborn. She has two other kids that have suffered greatly through two separate medical conditions. It is heartbreaking. She spends a good deal of the first third of the book discussing how she dealt with these tragedies. I cannot imagine what she went through, what her husband went through and what her family went through.

The next two-thirds of the book deal with her obesity. It is told through stories of the humiliation that she felt and how she struggled to deal with her weight gain. She then discusses how she began to lose the weight. Good stuff. My biggest problem is that I wanted to hear about her weight gain and her weight loss, but I wanted more time spent on how running helped her deal with the loss of her children. It is briefly discussed...but I wanted to learn more about how the family coped with these losses. She provides a lot of strength to people dealing with being over-weight, I just wished she had spent more time discussing how to cope with the loss of family.

I sometimes felt that the story was a mish-mash collection of stories of when she was over-weight. It often felt dis-jointed and out of sync. But, with that said, I enjoyed how she started each chapter off with a progression of her running the SLC marathon. It was a nice tool to bring the story together and see her progress.

The book is worth a read and I will recommend it to others. Pam Hansen and her husband have had a lot of struggles. I was impressed how they stuck together and got through the loss of kids and the weight loss struggle. It was a nice effort and a good read. Well done.

This book had me from the beginning. I received this book as a gift because I like to run. Pam has an unbelievable story, very touching. She brings you in and you are part of her world. You strugle with her, triumph with her, and feel what she is feeling. It is a great, inspirational story for anyone (not just those who are overweight).

I loved this book, it is so good to see how some one can overcome such tragadies, and make the changes Pam has made. A must read for any one trying to overcome obesity!

Easy to read, Inspiring to those of us who are trying to overcome obstacles in our lives. I would recommond this to everyone! She also was on weight watcher!

Isn't it wonderful when you find a book that makes you want to train to do a marathon as well? For years that had been this woman's goal, but her personal life was full of so much heartbreak it was impossible for her to spend anytime on herself. Pamela's story is very personal and real, something to which I imagine anyone could relate. She is a real woman with a real family and real problems, though I don't admit to have experienced the same tragedies she did.

To me this book was not so much about losing weight, grieving and running as about setting goals and doing your best to reach them even when it's hard. It's also about making time for yourself, prioritizing, having a postive self image, and just doing the best that you can. I enjoyed the book all except after she lost 50 pounds, it stopped telling the story and started talking for a long time about random stories of how she felt when people looked at her, etc. It seemed out of place and too long but that may be because I don't have those kind of feelings. I'm sure a lot of other people would relate to the stories. Over all it's very good and inspiring and I would recommend it to any woman even if they weren't struggling with weight.

I loved the book. I too am in a battle with weight loss and have successfully lost over 100 pounds. Pam does an amazing job at putting words to the emotions I know that I have felt and she has felt as well!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy and quick read, but all the same I took a lot of inspiration from Pam Hansen. Thankfully, I have never struggled with my weight; maybe a few kilos over at best. But what I do tend to struggle with, like many, is motivation. I now have the mindset: Well if Pam can, I definitely can! Another important topic throughout this book is to: Not judge a book by its cover. I know we are all taught this from an early age, but many of us forget this when we see someone that doesn't match the media advertising stereotype. Well done, Pam.

Pam Hansen seems to know how I feel and gets you to think deeper than you ever have in your weightloss journey than anyone I have come in contact with or anything I have read. Thank you!

I casually picked this up from a clearance table. When I got around to reading it a year later I was totally blown away! I've read it several times since. It's SO inspiring and motivating. I admire the author and wish I could thank her personally for sharing her story.