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With troubles beginning as early as childhood, the trajectory of Shane Niemeyer’s life seemed to have only one direction: down. His struggles with heroin addiction led him to jail, and he eventually hit rock bottom. Soon, his two pack a day cigarette habit was the healthiest thing he did. One dark night in jail, his suicide attempt failed. What happened next transcends the term recovery.The Hurt Artist is the searing yet luminous travelogue of Shane’s powerful journey from suicidal addict to Ironman. He vividly depicts the landscape of pain in which he’s lived his life—emotional and physical pain inflicted upon him and that he inflicts upon himself, pain that pulls him down, and, in detailing his training, the pain he harnesses to lift himself up.



About the Author

Shane Niemeyer

It was in the Ada County Jail, under 24-hour supervision, dope-sick and wrapped in a security blanket, Shane Niemeyer first decided he would compete in the Ironman World Championship. In his debut memoir, THE HURT ARTIST: My Journey from Suicidal Junkie to Ironman (with Gary Brozek; Thomas Dunne Books; May 20, 2014), Shane chronicles his startling transformation in an enlightening and hopeful account filled with DUIs, burglaries, overdoses, stints in jail and an Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI. The 28-year old drug addict and alcoholic was recovering from a botched suicide attempt when he was given a copy of Outside magazine to pass the time. Stumbling upon an article about the Ironman World Championships, Shane, then and there, vowed to one day swim the requisite 2.4 miles, bike the 112 and run the 26.2. Facing significant hurdles right out of the gate - he had no pool, no bike, no roads to run, was in jail, and headed for prison - Shane began his training, his day one workout regime consisting of eight push-ups and fifteen sit-ups. Today, Shane has competed in four Ironman World Championships - swimming, biking and running thousands of miles to get there - and just days before the book is set to go on-sale, Shane will travel to Houston, TX, to compete to qualify for his fifth.



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