Running from Perfection: My Journey from Eating Disorders to Endurance Sports-and the Neuroscience Behind It

She thought perfection was the goal-until she started chasing freedom.

As a teenager, Caitlin Massone developed an eating disorder, a secret struggle that consumed her for fourteen years. Even as she completed medical school, residency, and a fellowship in neurology, she fought a relentless battle with anorexia, binge eating, and bulimia.

In Running from Perfection, Massone recounts how she broke free from destructive patterns by turning to the healing power of nature and endurance sports. Running and mountaineering offered her a form of therapy more effective than anything she had experienced in a psychologist's office.

Drawing on her medical expertise, Massone deftly weaves in discussion of the brain's role in eating disorders, the interplay of nature and nurture, the formation of habits, and the roles of serotonin and dopamine in mental health. She also examines how exercise can both exacerbate and heal disordered eating behaviors.

As a neurologist, Massone offers a unique, candid perspective on how her brain betrayed her and how she regained balance. From her Appalachian roots to summiting Mount Rainier, her story is one of resilience, recovery, and rediscovering strength through nature and movement.