LIFT: A Love Letter

Introducing my new book, now officially on pre-sale.

Today is Galentine’s Day! What is Galentine’s Day, you ask?

Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. The concept was introduced in a 2010 episode of Parks and Recreation, and has since become its own Hallmark holiday where female friendships are the main event (here’s a piece I wrote on the phenomenon for The Wall Street Journal, as well as an interview I gave on NPR’s All Things Considered).

It is in that spirit that I am offering my own Galentine–-a love letter to women and their innate strength. LIFT: How Women Can Reclaim Their Physical Power and Transform Their Lives, is…

TA-DAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Available for pre-order.

If you or someone you love—a mother, a sister, a best friend—could benefit from a longer, stronger, and more empowered life, please give them this gift. Mel Robbins calls it “inspiring, practical and packed with wisdom to transform your life.” Billie Jean King says it is an “impassioned guide to challenge society’s expectation of women.” And Arnold Schwarzenegger calls it a “game changer.”

LIFT is many things: a journalistic exploration of the ‘skinny’ ideal and its harms, a treatise to the untapped power of muscle, and an invitation to build up rather than shrink down. It’s also a story of mettle and resilience that took me four years to write. After years of fighting against my own body, discovering its strength felt like a homecoming. Why? Because I realized strong was the baseline for how my body was supposed to function. Once that clicked, everything in my life improved. I performed better at work. I moved with more confidence. I ate more and nourished myself better. I started wearing lipstick again. I became stronger in every way. I even looked like a new person.

It became clear that the ideal I had long chased was a lie. Women were never meant to be thin. Women are inherently strong. Our bodies are incredible. We live longer than men. We bring life into the world. Research from Cambridge University shows that prehistoric women had bone structure comparable to world champion rowers today. Only in recent generations has society pressured women to diminish themselves, to literally waste away.

Is it any wonder the notion of diminishment is woven into all that is right and good. “Thin” is the name of the crackers we buy, “skinny” the jeans we wear. It is so pervasive we stop even noticing it.

Women have long lacked the same ecosystem of role models in sports that generations of men have had. Since Title IX, girls' participation in sports has risen from one in 27 to one in three. Yet a 2021 study by Purdue and USC found that media representation remains dismal: in 2019, women’s sports received just 5.4 percent of coverage on televised news and highlight shows, including ESPN’s SportsCenter. Will that finally change?

I am betting on yes. Look at the incredible strides female athletes have made in just the last year. The WNBA is charting new waters: in 2024, it saw a 48 percent increase in attendance and more than one million viewers across ESPN platforms. In US Soccer, Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang made history with a $30 million donation to expand girls’ and women’s programming. And Olympic Rugby Star Ilona Maher became a voice for what a powerful female physique can look like, rocking a bikini on the cover of Sports Illustrated to prove it.

The goal of this book is to show you that to be sound of body is to be sound of mind. This isn’t a book about bodybuilding, but my love for the sport informs everything I write because I am convinced that building more of your body helps one grow in every other aspect of life.

Here’s the thing: I want you to recognize and own your inner athlete. Because you ARE an athlete. You always have been. Women’s lives are an athletic feat—navigating roles, persevering when life throws obstacles in our path. You already have the strength within you. Now, it’s time to come home to the body you were meant to inhabit.

Support the Movement

Pre-ordering LIFT isn’t just about getting your copy first—it actually makes a HUGE difference for the book’s success. Why? Strong early sales show retailers and media that the book is in demand, leading to more coverage, bigger bookstore orders and a wider audience.

Also, bestseller lists matter: all pre-orders count toward first-week sales, which can help LIFT land on major bestseller lists (NYT, WSJ, USA Today)—bringing its important message to more women.

And of course, you get exclusive perks! For founding or one-year paid subscribers to my Substack who also purchase the book, I will mail you a signed bookplate.

Thank you for being part of this movement! Let’s lift each other up. 🚀✨

My longtime coach Tina Peratino giving me a hug after a win.