Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running With My Dog Brought Me Back From the Brink (Depression and Anxiety Therapy, Bipolar)

Running Can Be the Best Therapy for Depression

“Nita's brave, honest book imparts hard-won lessons on using running to combat depression.” ―Scott Douglas, contributing writer for Runner's World and author of Running Is My Therapy

50 Best Running Books of all Time
#1 Best Seller in Running & Jogging, Exercise & Fitness, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Mood Disorders

An unforgettable story of tenacity, running therapy, beating depression, and the companionship of a dog. The Dog Writers Association of America awarded Nita Sweeney a Maxwell Medallion for excellence in writing about the Human/Animal Bond for her memoir.

Running is my therapy. Before she discovered running therapy, Nita Sweeney was 49 years-old, chronically depressed, occasionally manic, and unable to jog for more than 60 seconds at a time. Using running, Nita discovered an inner strength she didn’t know she possessed, and with the help of her canine companion, she found herself on the way to completing her first marathon. In her memoir, Sweeney shares how she overcame emotional and physical challenges to finish the race and come back from the brink.

It's the best therapy for depression. Anyone who has struggled with depression knows the ways the mind can defeat you. However, it is possible to transform yourself with the power of running. You may learn that you can endure more than you think, and that there’s no other depression therapy quite like pavement beneath your feet.

Depression Hates a Moving Target is a witty and poignant story of rediscovery. Whether you’re born to run or just looking for rebirth:

• Be inspired by the powerful story of one woman―and her dog
• Cheer on Nita as she endures the challenges of a marathon and a mind in turmoil
• Discover the power of running to overcome obstacles and boost your mental health

If you loved running books like Born to Run or Let Your Mind Run, you’ll love Depression Hates a Moving Target. Also read Nita's Make Every Move a Meditation.

Nita Sweeney’s articles, essays, and poems have appeared in Buddhist America, Dog World, Dog Fancy, Writer’s Journal, Country Living, Pitkin Review, Spring Street, WNBA-SF blog, and in several newspapers and newsletters. She writes the blog, BumGlue and publishes the monthly email, Write Now Newsletter. Her memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink, was short-listed for the 2018 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award. Nita earned a journalism degree from The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, a law degree from The Ohio State University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Goddard College. For ten years, she studied with and assisted best-selling author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) at weeklong writing workshops teaching the “rules of writing practice” and leading participants in sitting and walking meditation. Goldberg authorized Nita to teach “writing practice” and Nita has taught for nearly twenty years. When she’s not writing and teaching, Nita runs. She has completed three full marathons, twenty-six half marathons (in eighteen states), and more than sixty shorter races. Nita lives in central Ohio with her husband and biggest fan, Ed, and her yellow Labrador running partner, Scarlet (aka #ninetyninepercentgooddog).