Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela & Julia Goldman
Hi Pamela & Julia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
My daughter and I wrote a book together. What started as a pandemic project morphed into something more for my daughter and I, inspired by her own journey as an athlete. As a mother of a 12-year-old who has been running since she was five, it’s easy to see how we collected so many stories about running, meets, coaches, and team interactions over the past seven years. Rolling them into TURTLE, a Middle-Grade fiction sportsbook and the first in the Run Like A Girl series was a wonderful exercise in memory-gathering and organizing. The result is a story about a fifth-grader who moves to the Lowcountry and after some social drama finds herself part of a competitive running club. As Emma Jackson pushes herself to discover who she is and what she is made of, the power of team sports becomes obvious.
The sad reality is that by the age of 14, girls traditionally drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys (Women’s Sports Foundation). As their bodies change, their attention pulled in many directions, and their minds challenged, it’s easy to see how it happens. The Run Like A Girl series is a challenge to all female athletes to stick with it. With a subtle girl power theme that gets bolder as the Run Like A Girl series progresses, TURTLE takes a first step to address the stigma of girls in sports by first planting a seed about what team running can offer them: confidence, leadership, community, purpose, self-discipline and a realization that running like a girl is something to aspire to.
Because we owe a lot to the running community, TURTLE was also a way to give back. Starting with our own local running club, Mount Pleasant Track Club, we started to use book sales to raise money for female athletes to fund travel expenditures to high-profile meets. Next, we turned to other female-empowering organizations such as Girls on The Run to raise awareness and money. We are currently in the process of reaching out to track and running clubs around the country with a similar plan. Writing a book never felt so right as we stick to the mantra: inspiring young runners to read and young readers to run.
You can find Turtle on amazon. For more information about Pamela Jouan-Goldman and Julia Goldman, go to runlikeagirlbooks.com
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Writing the book took determination and focus. We worked together, I mostly wrote and Julia edited. It was a fairly smooth process because we have respect for each other and had a common goal. The struggle is always getting it out there once it was self-published and marketing it. But we had been blessed with a lot of great press.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I was raised in London and spent my teenage years in Los Angeles. I worked for Atlantic Records for many years doing radio promotion but always harbored a secret desire to be a writer. I took a Master’s Writing Program at UCLA.
After my kids were born, I gave up my career in the music industry and started a business with my husband where I wrote and edited magazines for chefs and restaurants – that I still do today.
We moved to Mount Pleasant 4 years ago and I immediately wanted to give back to my new community. I ran for and was elected to the local constituent school board where I am currently Board Chair. I enjoy my position because I get to help and interact with students.
I am most proud of my children who are both talented in their own ways. My oldest is a senior in HS and an accomplished jazz trombonist. My youngest is a smart and considerate young lady with a penchant for languages, music, and running…fast!
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t know if I believe in luck as much as fate. I got my first job in the music industry by making a phone call and asking for a job. Gumption. I met my husband when I was on vacation. fate. I have 2 wonderful kids. Lucky–perhaps–but I like to think of it as also fate and faith! I think luck is overrated and dedication, focus, and hard work can never really be replaced. There are no shortcuts in life–you have to ultimately put in the time to get what you truly want out of it.
Pricing:
- Our first book Turtle is available at amazon.com for $14
Contact Info:
- Email: runlikeagirlbooks@gmail.com
- Website: runlikeagirlbooks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runlikeagirlbooks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runlikeagirlbooks
Image Credits
Celeste Joye
