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Survivor
- Life in the SAS
- Narrated by: Mark Wales
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Military & War
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Summary
Forging resilience
Finding purpose
Mastering transformation
How do you rebuild your life when you've hit rock bottom?
Mark Wales thought his life would end in a cornfield in Afghanistan.
Mark and his SAS troops emerged from that scorched battlefield 12 hours later, his mentor gunned down, his dream career now a nightmare. Over four deployments of intense warfighting, Mark watched the line between right and wrong become blurred. When he left the SAS he was adrift, crippled by guilt.
On a mission to rebuild himself, Mark turned his life around. He fought his way into the gates of a US Ivy League business school and into the boardrooms of top-tier international corporations. He spent years navigating failure in a quest to find new meaning in life. With every setback Mark counterattacked, discovering the tactics and tools needed to become more resilient, and to find happiness, belonging and purpose.
Told with gripping suspense, humour and touching warmth, Survivor is Mark's extraordinary life in and out of the SAS, a story of resilience and a testament to the power of transformation.
Critic reviews
"A powerful, honest story of courage, redemption and finding purpose." (Bear Grylls)
"Searing, humbling and uplifting.... Mark Wales is a true inspiration." (Major General John Cantwell AO, DSC)
"In Special Forces it is often said the thinking is at least as important as the fighting. Through these pages, Mark Wales is shown as a thinking soldier. And further, a person of magnificent generosity, taking us to rarely trespassed ground, the battlefield within." (Chris Masters, Gold Walkley award-winning journalist and author)
What listeners say about Survivor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gary
- 23-03-22
Great book - worth a listen
A really enjoyable book that excels because of the honesty shared by the author in telling his story. The fact that Mark himself does the voicing really adds to the overall experience. This isn't a book full of 'hero stories' from the movies, it is a book that describes the reality of war and the trauma that then follows/haunts many servicemen after the conflict is over. What makes this book really worth your time though is the reflection that Mark shares as he goes through the major shifts and pivots in his life, sharing the lessons that many listeners will find relevant and useful to them.
1 person found this helpful
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- Dean
- 06-07-21
Great book
Great book and really interesting story, his voice is flat and monotone. Other than that I really enjoyed it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Mrs S H
- 29-04-22
just buy it!
A roller coaster of a book, if you don't laugh out loud and hold back tears there's something wrong with you!
The best book I've listened to.
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- Dave G
- 22-01-22
from the heart
A Honest True Story of the life of a Soldier and the effects it has on you your family your friends your brothers in green......
Mark Wales your book and honestly brother spot on..........
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- Bryn Thomas
- 27-09-21
GREAT LISTEN
Heart felt warmth in the context of this audible. Such an honest account of his battles in combat, and following his time in the military.
Just loved the way the Aussies say the the “C” word, used a few times in this recording. Loved it.
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- MATT HUNT
- 26-06-21
Outstanding listen
Outstanding listen, from start to finish. A very accessible and humbling account. Totally recommended this.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-06-21
excellent, compelling and deeply personal story
Well written and narrated. One hell of a life story, inspiring and thought provoking
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- Nick T
- 27-05-21
Awesome book
Great audio version. Inspiring, brutal and honest account of the SASR. Loved it and listened to it in 2 days. Highly recommended
2 people found this helpful
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- Hugh and Linda
- 26-09-21
Best book I’ve come across in the last few years!
A POWERFUL yarn. Honest, emotional, and captivating. The chapters on Mark’s time in Afghanistan are some of the most insightful on war generally, and the Afghanistan war specifically. Recommending to all my friends.
1 person found this helpful
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- Tsandy
- 20-08-21
Great listen, hard to put down
I've never watched Survivor, or read many war books or heard of Mark Wales, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. But this is a really interesting, informative, and at times emotional story. Mark comes across as a tough, vulnerable, honest, funny, beautiful human being. It's a book you don't want to put down. The intonation on the narration is a little flat but it's still good to have it read in the author's voice and it feels authentic.
A few minor negative observations: there's a sort of recurring theme of wanting to do something, trying, failing, failing some more, finally getting better, then succeeding. After a while it feels a bit like rinse and repeat on the same story arc/trajectory. Also the language and editing is at times unnecessarily flowery and over the top. Eg I can't remember the context in the book but do men (soldiers anyway) really describe a woman as 'eschewing makeup'? And the chapters on the fashion business feel a little jarring and uncomfortably like a marketing strategy inserted into the book.
Those criticisms aside, it's a great read and what stands out is how lucky we are to have such courageous, committed, decent people in our armed forces. All Australians should be very proud of soldiers like Mark and forever grateful for their sense of duty. Thanks for your service mate.
1 person found this helpful
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- Mountain Aussie
- 08-07-21
From the Heart
What an amazing story, I almost cringe at calling it a story… it’s masterful writing, true “show don’t tell.”
The interspersed dry Aussie humor along with gut wrenching vulnerability by the author almost demands that this go straight to the big screen, Mark’s already shown that he can act! This would and should translate to the silver screen.
The way that he exposes his weakness rather than exploiting his obvious strengths is pure balance.
I love this book, this should be in schools across the globe, it’s hard hitting truth telling that had me laughing,crying and hoping for the outcome he eventually found.
Outstanding memoir Mark, you and everyone associated with this should be justifiably proud.
Hafts admit I was shocked by the 14 year old escapade had me pissing my pants!
Well done…
1 person found this helpful
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- Gene Crowe
- 30-05-21
Powerful, Raw and Thrilling
An honest, vulnerable and powerful memoir. A great listen from start to finish. Well done Mark!
1 person found this helpful