The W Common Reading Initiative

2022 Selection: Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas

Called one of the most engaging and honest memoirs of the year, Bravey will be the 2022-23 Common Read at Mississippi University for Women.

In Bravey, the Olympic runner, actress, filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas shares what she’s learned about confidence, self-reliance, mental health, embracing pain, and achieving your dreams. The W's Common Reading Initiative selection is recommended by a cross-campus committee of faculty and staff. Bravey will be included in the curricula of all first-year students, the focus of campus reading groups, and programming related to the book is scheduled through out the year.

From the publisher:

run like a bravey
sleep like a baby
dream like a crazy
replace can’t with maybe

When “Renaissance runner” (New York Times) Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete, actress, filmmaker, and writer—was four years old, her mother died by suicide, drastically altering the course of Pappas’s life and setting her on a search for female role models. When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy, female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to, and her Olympic dream was born. At the same time, Pappas had big creative dreams, too: She wanted to make movies, write, and act. Despite setbacks and hardships, Pappas refused to pick just one lane. She put in a tremendous amount of hard work and wouldn’t let anything stand in her way until she achieved all of her dreams, however unrelated they may seem to outsiders. In a single year, 2016, she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote, directed, and starred in her first feature film. 

But great highs are often accompanied by deep lows; with joy comes sorrow. In Bravey, Pappas fearlessly and honestly shares her battle with post-Olympic depression and describes how she emerged on the other side as a thriving and self-actualized woman. Unflinching, exuberant, and always entertaining, Bravey showcases Pappas’s signature, charming voice as she reflects upon the touchstone moments in her life and the lessons that have powered her career as both an athlete and an artist—foremost among them, how to be brave. 

Pappas’s experiences reveal how we can all overcome hardship, befriend pain, celebrate victory, relish the loyalty found in teammates, and claim joy. In short: how every one of us can become a bravey.

About the Common Reading Initiative

The Common Reading Initiative (CRI) at Mississippi University for Women draws on our rich literary heritage and builds on The W's tradition of excellence in teaching to:

• Develop intellectual community among students, staff, and faculty outside the traditional classroom,
• Foster intellectual curiosity, inquiry, and responsibility among all groups,
• Deepen understanding of issues raised in significant books, and
• Provide opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to engage socially in meaningful ways.

Book cover used with permission of Penguin Random House.