Recklessly Alive

by Sam Eaton

The true story of a man who thought suicide was the only option, only to decide that life was worth living but only if he could live it by being Recklessly Alive.

178 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Bonnie Plante · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incredible true story is one of loss and hurt but also of joy and love. This is the story of a man who thought he had nothing to live for and set a date to end it all. This is also the story of a man who chose to stay and who found his joy by living life recklessly alive. This faith based book is one of the best I've ever read on the topic of suicide ideation and how to overcome it's deathly grip on your life. Told by someone who has been there, it is full of hope and help. If you or someone you love struggles with mental illness with or without suicidal ideation, you need to read this book. Not a fan of faith based books? Read it anyway. It is not preachy or judgmental. It is full of love and hope and most of all, life.

[Timothy Smallwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on a favor offered through email from the author. It was offered for free in exchange of a review on it when I completed it.

Let me say that there are some gold nuggets in the book, but my rating reflects the difficulty that I had in getting those out. My difficulty is in what is necessary for an author to convey meaning while truthfully telling a story. This is not to accuse anyone of being dishonest, because I could feel the raw honesty of every story told. No, I have come to appreciate honesty here. My struggle is in the placing of curse words in the minds of the reader. This seems to be unnecessary and careless. Unnecessary, in that the meaning and story is not unclear without the language. Careless in that the reader is unnecessarily exposed to dangerous language. I also have an issue with the authors stance on drinking. He experienced so much loss due to the awful practice that I am appalled at his condoning of the social practice of drinking.

I will now say that the gold found here is in the story of an ordinary life that struggled, yet came alive. The author’s story could be echoed by so many of us, but somehow isn’t. Depression, suicide, self-loathing, etc are real to a vast majority of those who breathe air and yet no one is talking enough to make a difference in the lives of those around them. For this reason I am raising my rating from 3 stars to 4. Read with caution as to what I mentioned above, but prepare to be moved emotionally. Hopefully then you will live life without blinders to your own needs or the needs of those around you.

[Sarah Bennett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had high hopes as someone who has lost two close men to suicide and suffered depression myself and were all believers of God. The book was oddly structured, a few times it jumped from past and present in a non-cohesive way whilst putting unnecessary paragraph blocks elsewhere. The stories were very surface level, kept hinting at things never explored, for a book like this I'd expect some rawness. The author made weird jabs at people in a very immature way whilst saying bullying had a huge negative impact on their life, whilst glorifying over and over small kind things they'd done. There was no guidance just the same mantra of "living recklessly". It was a quick superficial read, would not recommend this book.