My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner

I listened to this on audiobook, read by Jeremy Renner. I remember hearing about his accident in the very first reports made to the public. I had no idea at the time that getting "run over by a snow plow trying to save his nephew" meant getting crushed by a 14,000 lb Snow Cat! What's most remarkable about this story is Jeremy's survival. His fortitude and strength to save himself on the ice seems unmatched. He is a tough son of a gun, to put it very mildly! Ha! It was interesting to listen to his thoughts on life, because this is ultimately what saved him. His "clarity of intention" once the Snow Cat rolled off of him was to breathe. Without breath, there is no life. So he concentrated on breathing, one painful breath at a time - for 45 minutes! He believes he died once, but came back through shear persistence and the knowledge that he would stay dead if he didn't "wake up" and take another breath. He strongly believes that "complacency is death" and one must take action because doing something screams love and shows that you care.

Jeremy's personality shines through this memoir for sure. He's tough as nails, loves deeply, speaks freely, and was The. Worst. Patient. Ever. He was honest about what a jerk he was to the hospital staff. He continually ignored doctor's advice. He persuaded his poor nephew, the actual witness to this traumatic event, to do things against his better judgement. Jeremy is a force to be reckoned with. Many of these qualities (which I would consider undesirable in a family member or friend) is what saved his life. He is a man who decided to "face his fears" years ago, one after another. According to Jeremy, fear is simply caused by a lack of information. So the way to face a fear is to arm yourself with information so that it's no long scary. He also stated that something only has value if you give it value. He gave me a lot of things to think about.

Jeremy apologizes a lot in the book to his family and friends for bringing such trauma into their lives. He is obviously very close to his sister, nephew, and daughter. There seemed to be some relationship issues between his sister & mother (since they hadn't talked for months before the accident) and I couldn't get a good read on his actual relationship with his mother and father - a part from their (separate) support after the accident. What I do know is that this traumatic event, and his survival of it, has changed him forever. He has a sense of humor, but there is one incident in the book that I laughed about, out loud, for minutes! It was toward the end of the book and Jeremy explains the process the doctor used to take the four screws out of his face. He is incredibly funny in how he describes it. And then he went to Taco Bell. Hilarious!

Wendy's Rating: ****