Rachel Thompson

Rachel Thompson

About

Rachel is a chick who writes stuff that makes you laugh, and sometimes cry.

Her first book A Walk In The Snark hit #1 on the Kindle Motherhood list September, 2011 (do you think they know she talks about sex? Shhh.). It’s since become a chart mainstay. #woot! She’s been nominated for Funniest Blog, Best Humor Writer & Redhead Who Makes A Killer Dirty Martini (okay, she made the last one up, but it’s true. Honest.).

She released The Mancode: Exposed right after Thanksgiving 2011 and by January, it placed in the Amazon Top 100 Paid!

 

Her third book, Broken Pieces, is completely different in tone. While still non-fiction, it’s not humor at all. She released it Christmas, 2012, and it reached #1 on Women’s Studies and Gender Studies within two weeks and garnered almost 55 four and five-star reviews in less than eight weeks (none paid, a service she neither supports nor advocates). In March, 2013, The Midwest Book Review gaveBroken Pieces five stars, as did two Top 10 Hall of Fame Amazon reviewers.

In May, 2013, Broken Pieces won best nonfiction book honorable mention from the San Francisco Book Festival, and received nominations for best nonfiction and women’s studies with the Global eBook Awards and eFestival of books (winners will be announced in August, 2013).

Connecting with other survivors of childhood sexual abuse and providing a safe place to discuss our stories has become an unexpected yet vital part of her own recovery. She couldn’t be more honored. Rachel created a secret Facebook group for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and is honored to share many of her fellow authors’ stories here on her blog.

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

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Description

<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that  cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>

Story Behind The Book

I share some of the experiences that made me a woman: childhood sexual abuse, an almost date rape, an abusive boyfriend and his subsequent suicide, and more. This is a book about surviving, told through essays, poetry, and prose. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Reviews

<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;"> <ul style="margin:20px;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;"><li style="margin:.5em 0em;"><i>This is a book about rising above; about becoming more than you can possibly believe you ever will be at those terribly low points of your life. It is about surviving, thriving and living and I recommend it more than any other book I have read.</i><b>' </b></li> </ul><b><i>~ Tracy Riva, Midwest Book Review, Amazon Hall of Fame reviewer</i></b></div> <div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;"> </div> <div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;"> <ul style="margin:20px;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;"><li style="margin:.5em 0em;"><i>The book is written as a series of fragmentary essays. Thompson is a wonderful stylist, and the whole book is written in a very lyrical and poignant prose. This is not a book for leisure reading, but a powerful testament to the resilience and the indomitable nature of human spirit.</i></li> </ul><b><i>~Dr. Bojan Tunguz, Amazon Top 10 Hall of Fame reviewer</i> </b></div>