SECRETS OF GIANTS

Everyone wants to know if they could do the impossible. Few of us will ever try.

Alyssa Ages was the strongest she’d ever been, able to flip monster truck tires and walk with 300 pounds on her back. She felt invincible, until the day her body betrayed her, leaving her vulnerable and grasping for control. Rebuilding her strength slowly brought her back to life. She began to wonder: What if strength isn’t about how much we can lift? What if it’s about how we manage life’s struggles?

In Secrets of Giants, Ages, now a mom of two, embarks on an immersive journey to the fringe of the weight-lifting world, the sport of strongman. She hoists kegs and lifts boulders in suburban parking lots, attempts to pull a 50-ton truck using only a rope, and occasionally frightens her neighbors by dragging a sled full of weights down her quiet tree-lined street. She meets a powerlifter-turned-boxer who shares how lifting taught her to become a master of the mundane. A ten-time World’s Strongest Man competitor is brought to tears illustrating how the gym helped him survive an abusive childhood. A pro strongwoman muses on managing setbacks before stepping on stage to deadlift the weight of a baby grand piano. Psychologists, researchers, and coaches offer insights into the fascinating ways that the pursuit of strength can permeate every aspect of our lives, from building resilience and confidence, to finding joy in discomfort, to teaching us to handle adversity.

Part personal narrative, part research mission, part reckless midlife crisis odyssey, Secrets of Giants uncovers why physical strength matters, and how it teaches us that we’re capable of so much more than we know.

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PRESS FOR SECRETS OF GIANTS

BEST-OF LISTS & AWARDS

SELF: 11 Wellness Books that Helped Us Live Better in 2023

The Skimm - The Best Health, Wellness, and Self-Help Books (So Far) This Year, Reviewed

Outside Magazine: The 2023 Sweat Science Holiday Book List

Zibby Media’s 2023 Zibby Awards: Best for the Strong Woman

Men’s Health: 52 Upcoming NonFiction Books in 2023

PRINT/ONLINE

The New York Times - The Joys of Spite Exercising (quoted as expert + book passage)

Publisher’s Weekly - Book Review

Well + Good - Lifting Weights Doesn’t Only Make Us Physically Stronger - It Can Support Trauma Healing, Too

CBC - What Heavy Lifting Taught Alyssa Ages About True Strength

The Skimm - Well Read

CBC - 32 Books You Heard About on CBC Radio Last Week

Literary Mama - Nothing is Impossible: A Conversation with Alyssa Ages

Esquire ME - Why We Can’t Stop Watching World’s Strongest Man (quoted as expert)

3rd Act Magazine

Physical Culture Study - Book Review

Strength Bible - Fitness Trends for 2024

EXCERPTS/ADAPTATIONS

SELF - A Miscarriage Took Away My Faith in My Body. Lifting Heavy Weight Brought It Back.

Bustle - Lifting is How I Learned to (Literally) Take Up Space

Men’s Health - How These Strength Legends Found Motivation for Greatness

PODCASTS/RADIO

Burnt Toast with Virginia Sole-Smith - Book Gospel

CBC - The Current - Uncovering the True Meaning of Strength

Mom’s Don’t Have Time to Read Books

Brain Candy

BarBend

The WANTcast - Women Against Negative Talk

Better! With Dr. Stephanie

The Wonder Women (Part 1 / Part 2)

The Mom Halo

She Has the Audacity

The Injured Athletes Club

The Pursuit of Dadliness

Another Mother Runner

We Should Talk About That

What She Said

Literary Mama

DO IT TODAY

A Certain Age

Experible

Change Your Attitude Change Your Life

The RedLeaf Fitness Podcast

One Bad Mother

I Dare You Podcast

Sweat the Technique

51%

APPEARANCES

RECORDING: LIVE at Zibby’s Bookshop in conversation with Casey Johnston


EVENTS

PAST

September 16, 10:00am - NYC - Strong Gurls Club LinkUp @ JDI Barbell TriBeCa. Beginners welcome! RSVP Here.

September 18, 7:00pm class** / 7:45pm book talk & signing - NYC - Mile High Run Club. In conversation with award-winning journalist and author Christine Yu. **you do NOT have to attend the class to join the book talk and signing. Sign up for the class here (no RSVP required to attend the talk only).

September 21, 6:00pm - TORONTO - Queen Books (914 Queen Street East) In conversation with 5x author and James Beard Award Winner, David Sax. No RSVP required.

October 3, 6:00pm - NYC - Finish Line PT (119 W. 23rd Street, 3rd floor) In Conversation with The New York Times Opinion writer and author Jessica Grose. RSVP Here.

October 10, 6:00pm - LA - Zibby’s Bookshop (1113 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica) In Conversation with writer, author, and strength influencer, Casey Johnston. RSVP Here.

November 1, 7:00pm - Ottawa - Soloway JCC - RSVP Here

November 23, 5:30pm - MOVE Fitness Toronto. In Conversation with Kelly Taphouse