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About The Annie Effect

Ever thought about running a marathon, doing an ocean swim, training for a triathlon? If you think those things might be beyond you, think again! In this intensely personal memoir, Annie tells her own life story and how her experiences and beliefs led her to develop a life that gave her a sense of greater purpose.

Annie Crawford turned her love of running into an organisation that has changed the lives of thousands of people. Can Too is a non-profit program that has trained over 16,000 people and raised more than $21.5 million – funding 158 cancer researchers and counting.

She’s also learned the joy of giving back through her involvement with other not-for-profit organizations that have enriched her life. If you’ve never thought you were capable of doing something extraordinary, Annie’s story will change your mind. You Can Too!

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What People Are Saying

Annie's Legacy for a Cancer-Free Future.

100% of book sales support the Can Too Foundation to deliver on Annie's vision:

#1. Reducing cancer in the community right now.

#2. Funding better ways to beat cancer in the future.

15,000

Lives Transformed

$20,000,000

Fundraised

158

Researchers Funded

12

Breakthroughs


chapter one:

Daisy Chains

I was maybe six years old the summer we went to stay at the beach house in South West Rocks, a sweeping stretch of sandy beach halfway between Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie ...

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chapter two:

Europe in a Kombi Van

From the outside looking in, it might seem like I’ve lived something of a charmed life, and compared with a lot of people in the world I’ve met and worked with, I’d have to say it’s true. In many ways, my life has been filled with love, joy and comfort ...


chapter three:

Grey Days

Starting university, I had a plan. I wanted to work with Italian migrant women and help them integrate into Australian society, so I chose a double degree in arts and social work. The social work degree would teach me how to work with people and the arts degree would teach me the language ...


chapter four:

Down to Business

You don’t go into social work if you’re motivated by money, but I had grown up watching my dad go to work on the two minutes-to-six train every morning, and I had that same work ethic ...


chapter five:

Running

Even with the doom occasionally lurking around, I had a fantastic time living in the US. We travelled all over – the Grand Canyon, the deserts of the southwest, down to southern California, up to Boston and over to the Cape and Nantucket. We travelled all the time, whenever we possibly could, funnily enough as is often the case when you are an expat, seeing more of the US than most Americans ...


chapter six:

Leap of Faith

The whole story of Can Too is the story of three women taking risks. It wasn’t just me. Julie White had also taken a risk. I’d walked in off the street – recommended by our good friend Guy Reynolds but still an unknown quantity to her – and she had given me the backing of the Macquarie Group Foundation. She could see that I had a good idea, and she was prepared to take a risk, but I could have been a total dud ...


chapter seven:

The Heart of Can Too

Since our first program in 2005, Can Too has continued to grow, thanks to the hard work of a lot of people. My amazing husband Simon has always been 150 per cent behind me. He’s always supported me in absolutely everything I’ve done, and Can Too has been no different. He’s been a coach, he’s been a Can Too participant, he’s raised money, he’s  been a mentor, he’s been a team captain and for years now, he’s given significant amounts of money to fund pods. He’s an incredible person and I’m incredibly lucky to have him in my life. There’s no way Can Too would have been as successful without him. He’s my rock and my sounding board ...


chapter eight:

Mission Accomplished

We had a couple of key goals going into Can Too, most of which I feel like we’ve now met and we’re continuing to meet. We wanted to help people achieve their personal goals and accomplish things they never thought they could. At the same time, we wanted to raise money for cancer research. It was particularly lovely for me that the first researcher we funded was working on a cure for colorectal cancer. I really felt this choice was in honour of my Dad ...


chapter nine:

Unintended Consequences

A lot has happened since those early days of Can Too, some of which I hoped for, much of which I never imagined. It’s now been eleven years since our first Can Too program, and at the end of every Can Too event, I still feel this incredible sense of achievement – not for myself but for all of our remarkable Can Tooers. For all that’s come of Can Too, a lot of really wonderful things have happened that I never anticipated ...


chapter ten:

The Road Ahead

In early 2008, I was invited to a breakfast that ended up having a very powerful impact on my life. The event was hosted by an organisation called Opportunity International. The philosophy behind Opportunity International is all about microfinance. Rather than simply giving money to people in need, Opportunity International gives microfinance loans to people, primarily women living in abject poverty in India and Asia ...