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  • Broken Open: Mountains, Demons, Treadmills and a Search for Nirvana

  • Written by: David Clark
  • Narrated by: David Clark
  • Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (34 ratings)

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Broken Open: Mountains, Demons, Treadmills and a Search for Nirvana cover art

Broken Open: Mountains, Demons, Treadmills and a Search for Nirvana

Written by: David Clark
Narrated by: David Clark
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Publisher's Summary

David Clark is a formerly obese alcoholic and fast food junkie who found a new life in running. Now, 13 years after his transformation, he shares his inspiring story of taking running to the extreme edge of his physical and spiritual breaking points. Having run more than a hundred races, including the Leadville 100-Mile Trail Run and the Hardrock 100, David has achieved unimaginable success in the ultramarathon world, considering his humble start. From barely finishing his first 5k to running 100 miles in less than 18 hours, David shatters the notion that the front of the pack is a birthright.

Among his many outlandish adventures, David talks about doing 10 epic events in one year to celebrate his 10th year of sobriety. This mind-bending year of running included running the Boston Marathon four times in one day, running 343 laps around a high school track, and running 48 hours on a treadmill. You will feel like you are running alongside him as he navigates his vision quest - all the while hallucinating and breaking from reality in one of the most epic Badwater 135 race experiences ever told.

David’s story is raw, honest, and pure adrenaline-laden inspiration as he shares his unique brand of Americana and heavy metal Buddhism. This book has far more to offer than just miles traveled and mountains climbed. It's about trying to find a way station of balance somewhere in a world of extremes. It’s about running to create a legacy and develop your own inner strengths. After listening to Broken Open, you’ll never doubt how strong you can be, how much you can endure, or whether or not you are capable of finding true happiness.

©2018 David Clark (P)2019 David Clark

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What listeners say about Broken Open: Mountains, Demons, Treadmills and a Search for Nirvana

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  • JV
  • 2021-11-21

Exceptional

One of the finest if not the finest book I've listened to on running and turning one's life around. Just so much raw human emotion and relatability. Bravo.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't Stop Listening

Raw Truthful Engaging! It let me see what the purpose of being fully in something is really about.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Te Journey to Self Discovery

I have no doubt that for this individual running may have just saved his sanity. A journey of self discovery and self redemption. Thanks for the listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful and challenging

As a person who has never heard of David before I found this book I was thrilled to find that we are very similar. This book has made me reflect on my own sobriety and my own need to run ultras. I got far more then I expected with this book.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Tough to listen to

There’s a lot of ways to interpret “tough to listen to”. David bares it all telling his story. It’s tough to listen to his indiscretions, it’s tough to listen to when he falls, and fails. He is very humble with his triumphs.
I don’t know David. But it’s seems he is telling an honest recollection of his monkey mind from 2005 onward.
We get to know Desmond too. THAT, was a tough listen. That whole chapter was friggin dark.
I’m not sure that the brutal honesty, the cleansing, the unveiling of your darkest self was necessary. Not Desmond, your cheating on your first wife. I’ve been there. I’ve confronted that one too, it’s a skeleton best left in the closet. We all have them. Although it’s those skeletons that make us who we are, and if we’re honest with ourselves, it’s what made us better humans being.
Normally, I listen to a book in days. This one took me weeks. This was not one of my favorite books. But maybe it should be. He rambles, but what he gives you is incredibly crystal clear pictures with his words. In a way, this book is a gift. Clarity. Honesty. Life. Learning. Emotion. Recovery. Relationships.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Emotional, motivational, not for runners

Runners may get the wrong message - overstretch yourself, run without a plan, it's all emotional out there, plans don't matter, just run as hard as you can. Otherwise, it's an entertaining read with a lot of emotional storytelling. Too many unnecessary f-bombs, like a kid who tried to look all grown up by using the bad words.

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