39 pages • 1 hour read
Kate FaganWhat Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Kate Fagan
Kate Fagan is a sports reporter and the author of What Made Maddy Run. Like Madison, Fagan is a former college athlete, having played basketball at the University of Colorado. Fagan was a writer for espnW, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine and a regular panelist on ESPN‘s Around the Horn and the host of Outside the Lines. She also covered the Philadelphia 76ers for the Philadelphia Inquirer for three seasons before joining the ESPN staff.
Throughout the book, Fagan uses her own experiences with anxiety to illuminate key aspects of Madison’s struggle. Fagan spent her freshman year unable to play basketball due to an injury, and she loved the perks of being a student athlete. However, in her sophomore year, she struggled to adapt to the demands of training. She tried to quit playing, but she had a patient mentor who suggested therapy. Therapy helped, and Fagan began to enjoy playing again. After college, Fagan briefly played basketball in Ireland. While Fagan empathizes with Madison, she did not struggle with depression. She interviews people who have more knowledge of Madison’s particular struggle.
Madison (Maddy) Holleran
Madison was a promising young student athlete recruited to run track at the University of Pennsylvania. She is referred to as both Madison and Maddy. Madison was born in the affluent suburb of Allendale, New Jersey, and came from a tightly knit family. A middle child of five siblings, she had three sisters, Carli, Ashley, and Mackenzie, and a brother, Brendan. Madison attended Northern Highlands, a large public high school, where she excelled academically and distinguished herself in soccer and track.
In Fagan’s telling, Madison is driven, disciplined, and focused. Strikingly beautiful and popular, Madison seems to have everything going for her. However, she is also quite shy, self-critical, and occasionally aloof. She has difficulty expressing her emotions. Madison struggles with the transition to college, and she begins to hate running track. Her depression and anxiety draw her into a dark place and influence her perception of her life.
Madison committed suicide in 2014 at the age of 19, leaving gifts and notes for her family and friends, a choice that suggests careful planning and a wish to control her own story.
Stacy and Jim Holleran
Stacy and Jim Holleran are Madison’s parents. Madison’s family is stable and reliable. Jim is an account manager for Dow Chemical who works from home most of the time. Stacy and Jim were high school sweethearts who broke up when they went to college, then reconnected after they both divorced and quickly got married. They move to Allendale, a quiet place to raise a family. The Hollerans’ family life seems typical of suburban families. The parents attend sports games, spend time with their kids, and provide ample support.
When Madison begins struggling with her transition to college, Stacy and Jim continue to support her. Jim brings her to a counseling appointment, and Stacy accompanies her back to college to provide moral support when Madison plans to quit the track team. However, Madison’s parents are unable to recognize the depths of her despair, seeing her struggles as an opportunity for personal growth as she learns to navigate a world that does always give her what she wants.
