She may not win trophies for completing marathons in five hours, but back-of-packer Cami Ostman is a winner with her newly published memoir ‘Second Wind’.In it readers are taken on a remarkable personal journey as she pursues a midlife quest to run seven marathons on seven continents.Finding herself edging towards the middle years of her life and coming to terms with divorce while also rejecting the restrictive religious-based life that had defined her life until so recently, Ostman embarks on a new life that challenges her to step outside her comfort zone.At the suggestion of an old friend she puts on running shoes and goes out for a slow run. She is an unlikely runner, but soon begins to appreciate the release it gives her to think and reassess her life.And so begins a transforming process as she tentatively embarks on a new relationship that is, at the same time, intertwined with a desire to run a marathon on each of the world’s seven continents and yes, that does include Antarctica!The book works on many levels, but at its essence it tells the true story of a woman redefining her place in the world.Filled with humour and poignant moments of reflection, Ostman goes from being a non-runner in 2001 to someone who last March found herself on the verge of becoming one of the few people on the planet to have completed the marathon distance of 26.2 miles on all seven continents.Does she complete her quest? That is for the reader to discover. However, runners and non-runners will find plenty to like about this book. The conversational writing style is easy to follow and enjoy and with each marathon Ostman finds a new meaning, a new lesson, to enrich her life.This is not a book solely about running, it also celebrates overcoming adversity, finding inner strength, connecting with others across age barriers and cultures, and letting go the need for perfection.As Ostman puts it herself: “The marathon teaches a person to plan, to dream, to push through hard times, to admire unlikely people, to give up the penchant for perfectionism, and to accept life for the messy endeavour it is.”It is also a book about a woman gaining strength and finding herself.Each chapter is prefaced by well chosen quotations that inspire and cleverly foreshadow lessons to be revealed in the pages that follow.Ostman’s reflection and honesty is refreshing. At one point she writes: “As it turns out, when you’re by yourself, it’s not easy to shove off the responsibility for your unhappiness onto someone else.”Personally, although I’m neither a woman nor a back-of-pack runner (I’ve run road races for 30 years), I found myself nodding along with so much of the experiences and revelations described by Ostman.I laughed loudly many times at the uncandid wit and humour to be found in the pages of ‘Second Wind’. And I appreciated the humbling moments of humility shown by the writer such as when, having envisaged cheering spectators, she describes her sadness at arriving at a near deserted finishing line after running a marathon race in five-and-a-half hours. Earlier in the race she had chatted to a fellow competitor, a 75-year-old man in his 331st marathon. Before leaving the finish line in the near silent stadium she turns and waits to cheer home the lonely veteran.The blurb for ‘Second Wind’ promises that the book will “inspire readers to take chances, find truth in their loves, and learn to listen to the voice inside them that’s been there all along”. For me, this book fulfilled that promise, and more.Second Wind is published by Seal Press, priced $16.95. A Kindle version is also available.