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Margreet Dietz is the author of four non-fiction books, A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km, Running Shoes Are a Girl's Best Friend, Powered From Within: Stories About Running & Triathlon and A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing.
She is the author of Sunshine on a wooden floor (poems).
From my Mother is her latest book, and her first novel.
Margreet is the editor of Timothy Moore's Sub Nine: History's Fastest Ironwomen and Teresa Rider's Reconnect With Food: Eat Your Way to Triathlon Success.
Born in the Netherlands in 1970, Margreet has been a professional journalist since 1996. She reported for Bloomberg News from Brussels, Toronto and Sydney, and worked as a copy-editor at The Australian Financial Review in Sydney.
The stories she wrote for Bloomberg News have been published in newspapers worldwide, including in the International Herald Tribune, Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, National Post, The Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, New Zealand Herald, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and De Tijd.
Margreet's articles on running and triathlon have appeared in endurance sports magazines in Australia and Canada since 2006.
The five-time Ironman finisher sticks to running these days. Still aiming to improve her marathon PB of 3:06, she has ventured into ultras.
More info at www.MargreetDietz.com
Reviewed by Brenda Ballard for Readers' Favorite
Over the duration of a 100 km marathon, Nadia reflects on the life of her Oma (grandma), the hardships her loved one endured and the impact it made on the way she lived.
Miles pass under Nadia's feet, her goal is merely to reach the finish line, not necessarily to win . . . for accomplishing the goal is a victory in her book. It allows her time to dwell on her family's history, dig deep into the root and the result, pull tidbits of clues and join them together to create a full picture of those things that had been so vague.
Oma is cranky, to say the least, at her age. She lives in an apartment in a senior complex, having moved from a house she rented for many years. Paranoia (probably from the trials she faced in her younger years) has set in heavily. The local police are on speed dial as she frequently lodges complaints against her son-in-law, who she feels is surely trying to get her out of the way so he can have her inheritance. Of course, this is not the case and those around her try to be patient and understanding.
Nadia's journey of 100km is one in which her physical strength is pushed but also her heart and mind.
It was not difficult to get wrapped up in this story, feeling the ups and downs both in the race and in Nadia's life. It brings to mind that, as stated in the book, our feet may be busy but our minds are still free. I loved that! I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those who are into marathons and so on.
