Rachel Toor

Alice Evelyn Davis, seventeen, has generally gotten all she wants from life but when her college of choice rejects her, problems with her best friend arise, and she faces an unexpected loss, her new-found interest in running helps get her through.

On the Road to Find Out

An Insider's Account of the Elite College Selection Process

Admissions Confidential

As much a moving memoir as it is an amusing pet manual, Misunderstood is a unique nonfiction book for teens and tweens about domesticated rats in general and a wonderful rat named Iris in particular. Brimming with smarts and energy just like its furry subjects, Rachel Toor's text blends history and science with profiles of interesting people and autobiographical anecdotes as it joyfully sets the record straight about why this reviled creature is actually a most amazing species. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation of domestic rats—and may be convinced to adopt one themselves.

Why the Humble Rat May Be Your Best Pet Ever

Misunderstood

Rachel Toor was a bookish egghead who ran only to catch a bus. How such an unlikely athlete became a runner of ultramarathons is the story of Personal Record, an exhilarating meditation on the making, and the minutiae, of a runner’s life. The food, the clothes, the races, the injuries, and the watch are all essential to the runner, as readers discover here, and discover why. A chronicle of Toor’s relationship with the sport of running, from her early incarnation as an Oreo-eating couch potato to her emergence as a hard-bodied marathoner, this book explores the sport of running, the community it brings into being, and the personal satisfaction of pursuing it to its limit. An homage to running, a literary take on how an activity can turn into a passion and how a passion can become a way of life, Toor’s book runs all the way from individual achievement—a personal record—to the world of friendship and community.

A Love Affair with Running

Personal Record

For all the anxiety that surrounds the college admissions process, one part of the application lies completely within a student's control: the essay. In this book, Rachel Toor--writing instructor and coach at all levels from high school to senior faculty, and former admissions officer at Duke University--shows that the key to writing a successful application essay is learning to present an honest portrait of yourself. This may sound simple but it means unlearning many of the principles taught in high school writing courses, avoiding the traps of mimicking sample essays and writing what you think admissions officers want to hear, and above all being willing to reveal your flaws as well as your strengths on the page. It also means mastering key mechanical issues that can undermine even the most thoughtful pieces of student writing. Toor offers her advice in a lively, humorous, and engaging tone, with stories of real students and their writing struggles and successes scattered throughout.

Crafting an Unforgettable College Admissions Essay

Write Your Way In

Charles Montgomery

Jonathan Potter

K. Bartholomew

Andy Lang

David R. Clark

C. J. Rose

Bruce Holbert

Paul D. Cohn

Lisa Marie Smith

Jim Thielman

Paul Lindholdt

Shann Ray

L. P. Masters

Ellen Welcker

Terry Robinson

Jane Mark

Anthony M. Aguilera

Carver Bain

Maurice Barr

Casey Bascetta

Molly McGoldrick Beck

Linda Bond

Eric Boose

Holly Chase Borba

Emily Cabbage

Patrick Cabbage

Beth Camp

Tristen Canfield

Becky Carlson

Gretchyn Carter

Jenny Catlin

Sandra L. Christensen

Ann M. Ciasullo

Ann M. Colford

Janelle Cordero

Linda Fifer

Kay Gillies Dixon

Sue Eller

Lydia-Laquatra Fesler

Eli Francovich

Stephanie Gady

Karyn Gallaway

Jean Wolff Gassman

Susan Goertz

Dixie McCollough Grimm

Nia Guest

Jim Hanlen

Kailee Haong

Isaac Helt

Jillian Holbrook

Arielle Hunter

Jordyn Jackson

Sandra Anderson Johnson

Laurie Klein

Duncan Lang

Lisa Laughlin

Yvonne Higgins Leach

Nan Comeaux Luppert

Alexander Antonio Manzoni

Amy Silbernagel McCaffree

J. McCowen-Rose

Karen Mobley

Willis Moore

Travis Laurence Naught

LilyMae Nerren

Rachel Nerren

Ryder Nerren

Sarah Ben Olson

Madison Oneto

Audrey Duff Overstreet

Judy Palpant

Kiale Palpant

Kassidy Reilly

Melissa Rhoades

Carl Alexander Rice

Tina Rodeen

Evalynd Maple Rodriguez

Jude Rodriguez

Olivia Butterfly Rodriguez

Constance Shultz

Marian Sheafor

Beverly Smick

Connie Taylor

Kathy Lee Tolleth

Teresa Vanairsdale

Diana Wickes

A Poetry and Prose Anthology

Spokane Writes

On The Road To Find Out

Rachel Toor was a bookish egghead who ran only to catch a bus. How such an unlikely athlete became a runner of ultramarathons is the story of Personal Record, an exhilarating meditation on the making, and the minutiae, of a runner s life. The food, the clothes, the races, the injuries, the watch (and Toor loves her watch) are all essential to the runner, as readers discover here, and discover why. A chronicle of Toor s relationship with the sport of running, from her early incarnation as an Oreo-eating couch potato to her emergence as a hard-bodied marathoner, this book explores the sport of running, the community it brings into being, and the personal satisfaction of pursuing it to its limit. Alternating with Toor s account of becoming a runner are the stories meditations, examinations, celebrations of how runners become a pack. An homage to running, a literary take on how an activity can turn into a passion, and how a passion can become a way of life, this book runs all the way from individual achievement a personal record to the world of friendship and belonging, the community that runners inevitably find.

Funny, heartfelt, and irreverent, The Pig and I follows the hilly course of author Rachel Toor's romantic life as she falls in love with a series of pets and in and out of love with an equally eclectic string of men, many of whom bear a striking resemblance to the animals, both in looks and temperament. From Prudence, a sweet white lab mouse who hates Rachel?s sweet, mousy actor-boyfriend Charlie, to Emma the pig, a fifty-pound force of nature that Rachel coparents with her ex-boyfriend Jonathan, we accompany Rachel as she learns how to bring into her human relationships the same kind of acceptance she so easily extends to her pets. Anyone who knows the comfort of coming home after a disastrous date or day at the office to a wagging tail or a ready purr will find The Pig and I irresistible.

The Pig and I

There are hundreds of books available that coach kids on writing college application essays, improving SAT scores and trying to beat the admissions system. Admissions Confidential is a definitive look at why those books don't work. Toor lifts the veil on a process that anxious parents and high school students have never had decoded before. And they may be shocked to find out: --that elite colleges spend thousands of dollars recruiting students they will never admit --why some students at the bottom of their high school classes are admitted to top schools when the valedictorians are rejected --how pricey independent college counselors can hurt an applicant's chances --why admission to a top school depends on who reads your application --why the top of the class at a high-performing high school may end up at their second and third choice Written in engaging first-person and covering the entire admissions process--from recruiting to enrollment--Admissions Confidential is a year in the life of a college admissions officer.

Writing, for most of us, is bound up with anxiety. It’s even worse when it feels like your whole future—or at least where you’ll spend the next four years in college—is on the line. It’s easy to understand why so many high school seniors put off working on their applications until the last minute or end up with a generic and clichéd essay. The good news? You already have the “secret sauce” for crafting a compelling personal essay: your own experiences and your unique voice. The best essays rarely catalog how students have succeeded or achieved. Good writing shows the reader how you’ve struggled and describes mistakes you’ve made. Excellent essays express what you’re fired up about, illustrate how you think, and illuminate the ways you’ve grown. More than twenty million students apply to college every year; many of them look similar in terms of test scores, grades, courses taken, extracurricular activities. Admissions officers wade through piles of files. As an applicant, you need to think about what will interest an exhausted reader. What can you write that will make her argue to admit you instead of the thousands of other applicants? A good essay will be conversational and rich in vivid details, and it could only be written by one person—you. This book will help you figure out how to find and present the best in yourself. You’ll acquire some useful tools for writing well—and may even have fun—in the process.

Rachel Toor

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