Not Afraid: On Fear, Heartbreak, Raising a Baby Girl, and Cage Fighting

Author: Daniele Bolelli

Buy It: Amazon

Entertainment Value: 9/10

Life Value: 8/10

Read If: You want the courage to look fear and tragedy in the eye, raise a defiant middle finger with a wry smile even as tears fill your eyes, and say “do your worst, motherfucker”.

Do Not Read If: You like identifying as a victim, and don’t want to get over the personal story that keeps you in a position of perpetual helplessness.

There are very few men who would admit to tapping out in an MMA fight purely out of fear, and seeking bereavement counsel in the embrace of a prostitute.  There are even fewer that would put that in a book.  But then again, there aren’t many people like Daniele Bolelli.  This is Daniele at his most vulnerable and brilliant.  His relentless honesty smells like roses amidst the bullshit euphemism we’ve come to expect from most novels.

It is a story of overcoming fear and tragedy in his personal life, including the harrowing journey of an sensitive nerd turned MMA fighter, and the tragic loss of a life partner.  Through it all is a thread of defiant courage that will leave you truly inspired.  I found myself laughing and crying on alternating pages throughout the story, reading it cover to cover in a single long day.

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