Nita Sweeney
Comment: I've fixed the issues with the article to address tone and delete inappropriate verbiage. However, the sources don't disclose significant coverage. Refer WP:42 and WP:GNG. As a next step, suggest find two quality reviews and add them to Critical reception section. Refer WP:42 and WP:NAUTHOR #3. Her book will need to be the "primary subject" of the review and the review must be in an independent reliable source (no blog posts etc). Mme Maigret (talk) 13:33, 4 August 2026 (UTC)
Nita Sweeney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 28, 1961 Sandusky, Ohio, U.S.A. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Education | E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University (BA), Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Goddard College (MFA) |
| Website | |
| nitasweeney | |
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Nita Sweeney is an American author and former lawyer. She is best known for her memoir Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink (2019), which describes her experience with depression and bipolar disorder and her subsequent use of long-distance running as a coping practice.
Early life and education
Sweeney earned a journalism degree from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, a law degree from the Ohio State University, and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College.[1]
Sweeney has said that she first began experiencing symptoms of depression in college, when ordinary setbacks such as a breakup felt overwhelming.[2]
Career
Sweeney practiced law for about a decade, during which she said she had to work harder than her colleagues to overcome an initial sense of paralysis before beginning tasks, attributing this to undiagnosed depression.[2]
After leaving the legal profession following a major depressive episode, Sweeney turned to writing full-time. For about ten years, she studied with and served as a teaching assistant to author Natalie Goldberg.
Before publishing her first book, Sweeney wrote articles for dog magazines, including pieces in Dog World and Dog Fancy, and contributed a chapter, "A New Year," to The Complete Guide to Buddhist America, a reference work edited by Don Morreale.[3]
Her first book, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink (Mango Publishing, 2019), is a memoir recounting how she took up running in her late forties as a means of managing depression and bipolar disorder. The book received a Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers Association of America and was a finalist for the William Faulkner–William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award.
Sweeney took up running at age 49 while managing bipolar disorder and grieving the deaths of several people close to her.[4] She said a friend's social media post about about a Couch to 5K program inspired her to begin running.[4][3] Sweeney completed her first marathon in 2012 at age 51. She has since run more than 100 races, including an ultramarathon.[5] As of 2020, she had completed three marathons, 28 half-marathons in 18 states, and about 100 shorter races.[3]
She has since written and spoken about strategies for managing negative self-talk and self-doubt, drawing on her own experience with depression and anxiety.[6]
In 2020, she co-authored the writing journal You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving with Brenda Knight.
Her third book, Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight (2022), argues that everyday physical activities can be turned into a meditative practice by anchoring attention to a single sensation. Her fourth book, A Daily Dose of Now: 365 Mindfulness Meditation Practices for Living in the Moment (2023), offers a year's worth of brief daily mindfulness practices. Her fifth book, Memorial: The Year My Dad and I Stopped Keeping Score (2026), is a memoir about the year surrounding her father's terminal illness, during which the two rebuilt their relationship through golf outings.
Critical reception
Of her book, Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight, Jon Sweeney writing in Spirituality & Practice said "There are thousands of books written on mindfulness and meditation, but this one is unique, designed... for those who need what mindfulness offers, but for whom sitting still is never idea".[7]
Sweeney's book Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink (2019) has been included in a number of lists of recommended reading, including by the Literary Hub,[8] Indian Express,[9] the South China Morning Post,[10] Parade,[11] First for Women,[12] and Healthy New Albany magazine.[13] Similarly, Sweeney's book Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight was included in a The Wall Street Journal round up of exercise-based approaches to meditation.[14]
Personal life
Sweeney lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, with her husband, Ed Sweeney.
Works
Books
- Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink (Mango Publishing, 2019; reissued by Books That Save Lives/Jim Dandy Publishing following Mango's 2025 closure)
- You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving, with Brenda Knight (Mango Publishing, 2020; reissued by Books That Save Lives/Jim Dandy Publishing)
- Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight (Mango Publishing, 2022; reissued by Books That Save Lives/Jim Dandy Publishing)
- A Daily Dose of Now: 365 Mindfulness Meditation Practices for Living in the Moment (Mind, Mood, and Movement, 2023)
- Memorial: The Year My Dad and I Stopped Keeping Score (Mind, Mood, and Movement, 2026) ISBN 979-8988074434
Book Chapters
- Morreale, Don (1998). "A New Year". The Complete Guide to Buddhist America. Shambhala Publications. pp. 334–336. ISBN 978-1-57062-270-0. Search this book on
Articles
- Sweeney, Nita (March 1996). "Drugs Put the Leash on Unruly Dogs". Dog World. Vol. 81 no. 3. p. 44.
- Sweeney, Nita (December 1997). "The Dog Beautiful". Dog Fancy. Vol. 28 no. 12.
References
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stepko, Barbara (2022-06-14). "This Is What Depression Feels Like". AARP. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Stephens, Stephanie (2020). "Nita Sweeney Outruns Depression". bp Magazine (Interview). Retrieved 2026-07-05.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wittershagen, Michael (2024-10-31). ""Laufen hinterlässt ein Gefühl der Zufriedenheit"" ["Running leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction"]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ Pajer, Nicole (August 2022). "Against the Odds". Woman's Day. p. 52.
- ↑ Tartakovsky, Margarita (2019). "When Your Mind Keeps Telling You You're a Failure". Psych Central. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ Sweeney, Jon M. (2022-11-16). "Make Every Move a Meditation by Nita Sweeney". Spirituality & Practice. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
- ↑ Chesbro, James M. (2019-11-12). "Why Do We Run? On the Art of the Marathon Memoir". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ "5 audiobooks to keep you running even when your legs say stop". The Indian Express. 2025-06-05. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ Agnew, Mark (2020-06-05). "The best running books to read while bored in lockdown". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ Vogel, Kaitlin (2021-05-14). "40 Best Books About Depression That Will Inform, Inspire, and Help You Feel Less Alone". Parade. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ "7 Books We're Loving Now". First for Women. 2022-04-18. p. 100.
- ↑ Cullinan, Elizabeth (2025-09-02). "Healthy New Albany Bookmarks: September/October 2025". Healthy New Albany. CityScene Media Group. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ Gamerman, Ellen (2022-01-11). "New Books on Better Workouts That Include Brain as Well as Body". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
Category:Living people Category:American memoirists Category:American women memoirists Category:Writers from Columbus, Ohio Category:Ohio University alumni Category:Moritz College of Law alumni Category:Goddard College alumni
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