Like a running group in a book, we experience a witty conversation with a friend as she shares her memoir of the ups and downs. It's more about motherhood, military wife life, and the struggles that are universal than it is about running....running is just the thread that ties it all together. For those of us who are runners (even at heart, if we can no longer run), or those of us struggling with the daily challenges of motherhood, this book is a reminder that you're not in it alone....and you can do big things with small steps.

I’m a huge Keira D’Amato fan, so I started this book wanting to love it. And as a fan, Don’t Call it a Comeback is exactly what I expected Keira’s book to be: funny, warm, personal and inspiring—all words I’d use to describe Keira herself.

For those who don’t know as much about Keira D’Amato, she’s a professional runner with a less traditional path to the sport. Like many pros, Keira ran in college, but shortly after, she gave it up because of medical issues that weren’t covered by health insurance. Keira dove headfirst into becoming a realtor, wife, and mother of two… for 8 years. Keira gained weight and lost all fitness, essentially abandoning the elite runner lifestyle. And then, one day, fed up with things in the moment, Keira went out to try and run for three minutes. She couldn’t. Keira lasted 90 seconds. But, as you’ll read in detail in Don’t Call it a Comeback, Keira is determined, and decided she’d persevere through the worst part of running (getting started) and worked up to longer distances. It took years, but Keira started hitting faster times and winning local races. During COVID, Keira attracted enough attention to get a professional running sponsorship, but unlike most new pros, she was 35, a mother of two, and still working as a realtor. And she crushes. Keira has truly made a name for herself as one of the best American runners out there.

In Don’t Call it a Comeback, Keira shares her highs and lows, the way her brain works, a ton of motivational content (but it doesn’t feel like self-help, it’s motivational by nature of what Keira tells herself, not what she’s telling you), and of course, a lot of humor. This book is easy reading and a delight. In short, I loved it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended, especially if you’re in the distance running club.

I highlighted at least a dozen passages, but here’s one that sums up Keira’s positive, strength-based personality:

“But once I stepped away, I had a little epiphany. In a race with ten thousand people, only one person can win. Does that mean only one person can be psyched? Hell, no. We’ve all run the same distance. When I was part of the pack, I still felt a ginormous sense of accomplishment if I managed to finish. I mean, most of the excitement is as uncomplicated as now I can be done running. Yet your moment at the end of the race means that you showed up. You didn’t quit when you really, really wanted to. You persevered when things weren’t going well. Making it to the end of a bad race is often more of a success than winning the perfect one.“

First of all, I love love LOVE Keira D'Amato and was SO excited to recieve this ARC! I've followed her running for a while and have seen her speak on podcast and panels a few times - she is a GEM!!

I really enjoyed the authenticity of D'Amato's writing and hearing her experiences; she was able to share her running career while still connecting it to her real, humorous, and relatable life stories to keep it personable and engaging. Some chapters had me laughing out loud while others had me close to tears along with everything in between. If anything, it just made me love her even more!!

All of that being said, I was expecting more of her professional running journey but this was more of a general memoir with some running stories sprinkled in there; lots of it felt very self help-y which just isn't my jam. It didn't make for a bad book, but it just wasn't for me or what I was expecting. I can see why the different focus could relate to a wider variety of audiences, though.

Overall, this was a quick and fun read and I could hear D'Amato's voice jump off the page - if you don't know her yet, I definitely recommend picking this up. You won't regret it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I expected to like this book, but I truly didn't expect it to hit me this hard. But  I happened to read chapter 3 while I was home alone sick while my husband was traveling for the air force and I just felt very, very seen in that moment. Thank you Keira for writing about the military spouse experience so earnestly. It's not a major part of the book, but it had a major impact on me. 

On the whole, this book is very funny and witty, which is of course what I expected. It's also very readable and quick to get through. 

While being funny, this book is also very earnest and relatable. The parts about being a military spouse I mentioned above are great, but so are the parts about motherhood. 

I love the message of this book and the positive culture it promotes around running. Running circles can be quite toxic and non-inclusive, so I really appreciated that.