Allred, Alexandra Powe 1965-

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ALLRED, Alexandra Powe 1965-

(Alexandra Powe-Allred)

PERSONAL: Born February 5, 1965, in Frankfurt, Germany; daughter of Marc B. (an American diplomat) and Karen (an education consultant and writer) Powe; married Robb Allred (an engineer), December, 1991; children: Kerri, Katie, Tommy. Education: Texas A & M University, B.A. (history and Russian).

ADDRESSES: Home—4610 Whitehead Rd., Midlothian, TX 76065. E-mail—alex@alexandrapoweallred.com.

CAREER: Writer. Member of the U.S. Women's Bobsled team, 1994-98; crew member for the U.S. Men's Olympic Bobsled team, 2002 Olympic Games.

Board member for Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic; fitness/health expert for www.pregnancy.com; freelance writer for periodicals on parenting and fitness; has worked with science and sports summer camps for underprivileged children in Columbus, OH.

AWARDS, HONORS: Gold Medal, U.S. National Competition, U.S. Women's Bobsled team, 1994-98; named Athlete of the Year, 1994, United States Olympic Committee; named Mom of the Month, by iParenting.com, and Author of the Month, by qCircuit.com.

WRITINGS:

(As Alexandra Powe-Allred) The Quiet Storm: A Celebration of Women in Sport, Masters Press (Indianapolis, IN), 1998, revised edition published as 'Atta Girl! A Celebration of Women in Sport, Wish Publishing (Terre Haute, IN), 2003.

Entering the Mother Zone: Balancing Self, Health, and Family, Wish Publishing (Terre Haute, IN), 2000.

Passion Rules! Inspiring Women in Business, Oasis Press, 2001.

Teaching Basic Obedience: Train the Owner, Train the Dog, TFH Publications (Neptune City, NJ), 2001.

Hummer, the Bee Who Couldn't Buzz, Fine Line Publications, 2002.

Your Outta Control Puppy, TFH Publications (Neptune City, NJ), 2002.

Atticus Weaver and His Triumphant Leap from Outcast to Hero and Back Again, Summit Books (Des Moines, IA), 2002.

The Code, Perfection Learning (Des Moines, IA), 2002.

Crossing the Line, Summit Books (Des Moines, IA), 2003.

Retold Middle Eastern Myths: Folktales for Children, Perfection Learning (Des Moines, IA), 2003.

Contributor to periodicals, including Mature Living, Muscle & Fitness Hers, and Columbus Parent.

SIDELIGHTS: Alexandra Powe Allred is an athlete whose experiences on the U.S. Women's Bobsled team and training at the national Olympic Training Center put her into contact with the best American female athletes of her day. Allred's first book, The QuietStorm: A Celebration of Women in Sport, features interviews with female athletes about their lives and careers. The book was updated and revised five years later under the title 'Atta Girl! A Celebration of Women in Sport. Allred incorporated her own experiences as an athlete who becomes a mother in Entering the Mother Zone: Balancing Self, Health, and Family. Again relying on interviews with famous women, both athletes and celebrities, Allred produced a book that examines how athletic women cope with the changes in their bodies and their time schedules once they begin having children. It is also "so much more," according to Connie Banack in Special Delivery. The author "looks in-depth at how to eat well, exercise well, and lower stress for the benefit of mother and baby," Banack continued, extolling the reassuring and joyful stories told by the women featured in the book. Allred is also the author of Passion Rules! Inspiring Women in Business, which does for successful businesswomen what her earlier books did for women athletes.

Allred, the mother of three children, has also branched out into writing fiction for children, producing Atticus Weaver and His Triumphant Leap from Outcast to Hero and Back Again and The Code, both chapter books for younger readers. In Atticus Weaver a boy in a wheelchair learns to deal with his unusual name, schoolyard bullies, and sticking up for what he believes in and finds out along the way that his wheelchair is the least important thing about him. In The Code Allred depicts the pressure gangs put on young boys to keep their code of silence, even when they witness a terrible crime, as Steven, the main character, has.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, March 1, 1998, Kathryn Ruffle, review of The Quiet Storm: A Celebration of Women in Sport, p. 96; Kathy Ruffle, review of 'Atta Girl!: A Celebration of Women in Sport, p. 144.

Special Delivery, spring, 2001, Connie Banack, review of Entering the Mother Zone: Balancing Self, Health, and Family, p. 23.