With the tension of the riveting, seminal track race embedded in its narrative, Relax and Go: On Running and Surviving Parental Trauma is the inspirational response of a father to his children's traumas. Duke University's most valuable cross country runner of 1987 serendipitously re-encounters and marries his childhood sweetheart on his way to living the American dream only to learn that the setbacks he faced as a successful athlete are trivial compared to the emotional toil of having two of his three children diagnosed with diabetes-one of whom was already struggling with significant learning differences. While Relax and Go will swiftly engage any parent whose child is suddenly diagnosed with a serious condition, disability, or even a lesser trauma, it possesses the fleshy characters of quality literary fiction. The infant boy with reflux becomes the four year old with juvenile diabetes, but even after his diagnosis with asthma and an extended recovery process from multiple concussions, he retains his indomitable spirit and disarming sense of humor. The story of the learning different youngest child and her struggles with dyslexia, ADHD, processing and anxiety disorders, and eventual juvenile diabetes diagnosis is immediately alarming: "I am stupid. I am ugly." Her moving story is heartbreaking as she thoughtfully exclaims, "God made a mistake. Only Ben was supposed to get diabetes." Yet, she is triumphant as she learns to read and understand herself: ". . . Mommy and Daddy were right. I am not ugly and I am not stupid." The self-described "Oreo filling" middle child could have been easily crushed by the extraordinary attention necessarily dedicated to her "top and bottom" siblings, but like that cookie's center, she cements the parts with her strength. She also endures the effects of concussions as a pre and young teen, but her second occurrence receives characteristically short attention as her little sister is soon diagnosed with diabetes. It would be understandable for her to be resentful. Instead, she merely wishes that she could be a better sister. The self-possessed narrator who grows through his struggles, learning how much is beyond his control, and how to treasure the rewards of investing in the journey. As a child, he must navigate his own course through the landmines of his own parents' crumbling marriage.
About the Author: Jonathan Hersch was born in Trenton, New Jersey as the youngest son of a Conservative rabbi and his wife in a family of five. He spent six summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, a place that would have a profound impact on his life including the fact that it was where he met his future wife. Jonathan discovered running as a pre-teen and under the tutelage of Lawrence High School's hall of fame coach, set school records in every distance event and won two individual state group championships to accompany his five team and relay titles. After completing his competitive career at Duke, Jonathan began running to raise money for various causes; he has run more than a dozen marathons and with the team that he co-founded with his wife, has helped to raise nearly $400,000 for diabetes research.