NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ARE OLD NEWS FOR AUTHOR WHO AIMS FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF HEALTH

TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa-based author Jennifer Luitwieler dislikes New Year’s resolutions as much as most people dislike fruitcakes in December. In her estimate, resolving to shed twenty pounds is a meaningless pursuit if the heart remains heavy with the weight of life’s freight. In her book, Run With Me: An Accidental Runner and the Power of Poo (Civitas Press, 2011), Jennifer offers readers a cure for the cancer of self-loathing, and hopes readers will walk away from the reading experience with healthier hearts and bodies.

Run With Me is a memoir that tells the story of a woman who began running in a misguided attempt to train the family dog to “lay pipe” somewhere else besides beneath her sewing table. Jennifer was literally compelled by “the power of poo” to run. In her attempts to discourage the dog from making messes indoors, she met her own inner mess head-on outdoors. In the beginning, she wanted to run away from herself. But by God or by dog – perhaps with a little help from both – she eventually found herself wanting to run marathons. Jennifer’s blog features a series titled “Why I Run”, which features stories from other people whose lives have been revolutionized by running.

“I titled my book Run With Me,” Jennifer explains, “because I wanted to encourage other people to cast off the ‘poo’ that slows them down, trips them up, and keeps them from ‘running’ as far and fast as they can.” Run With Me achieves this goal with no small amount of wit. Jennifer’s writing has been compared to the works of salty Salon essayist and author Anne Lamott. Jennifer’s book, like the works of Lamott before her, mines the depths of dog poo and depression alike to yield its humorous ore.

Run With Me became a “Hot New Release” and an Amazon Bestseller on Amazon.com upon its release in September, and it continues to receive glowing reviews (for a complete listing, click here). It is available on Amazon.com, at Barnes & Noble, and directly through the Civitas Press website.