Review: ‘A Fighter’s Heart’ by Sam Sheridan

Sam Sheridan does more in the first 50 pages of ‘A fighter’s Heart’ then any of us are likely to do in 50 years. Recounting the early years of his life, a time spent without a destination, yet always in transit, Sheridan tell of his youth spent exploring mental and elemental extremes. Fighting wild fires in Washington one day, working construction beyond the Arctic Circle the next, and somehow still managing to find time to graduate from Harvard. Reading his exploits is almost guaranteed to make you feel as if your own life is about as exciting as dry toast. You may find yourself wishing you were as brave, motivated, or unencumbered as Sheridan, and while he is undoubtedly all of the above, what really matters, is that hes smart.

Not far into ‘A Fighter’s heart’ Sheridan shares his personal belief that if you really want to do something, you should be able to find a way to get someone else to pay for it. Want to sail the world? Join the Merchant Marines or crew on a private yacht. Want to learn to sky dive? Become a Smoke Jumper. Want to learn to fight? Get yourself a book deal.

As amazing and entertaining as Sheridan’s diverse history is, it serves only to establish character, to give the reader a glimpse into the mind of the author. The true core of the book follows Sheridan on his search for the truth of why we fight. His search initially takes him to Thailand for two-a-days training Muay Thai kickboxing at the now famous Fairtex gym. Having found neither his hunger to fight nor his search for answers satiated, Sheridan moves on to train in every style imaginable. Furthermore, in doing so he does not just train these styles, he trains with the best. Boxing with a young American Olympian, learning Jiu Jitsu in Brazil with Brazilian Top Team, and Mixed Martial Arts in Iowa with Pat Militch, Sheridan bypasses the throngs of wannabe tough guys and seeks out the worlds last true warriors.

Admittedly, in his desire to learn what motivates a fighter, and to truly test himself, Sheridan can wander a little far from the mark. Losing the portion of the book in which he works on an action film starring Paul Walker of ‘The Fast and the Furious’ would be no great loss. However, some of his other unorthodox ventures are surprisingly successful. His exploration of the world of dog fighting is simultaneously shocking yet undeniably intriguing, and it offers up unexpected insights into the human mind.

Although the book loses momentum a little toward the end, a possibly inevitable result of the harsh conditions Sheridan puts himself through, it is still an amazing piece of journalism. His desire is to find answers to questions we all ask. ‘Who am I really’, ‘what am I really capable of’, and perhaps most poignantly, ‘what are my true limits’. In writing the book it is evident that Sheridan takes the exploration of these questions as far as his is capable, and in so doing answers them himself as best as he can. All of this is not to say that simply reading his account will do the same for you, but, you may find the motivation to go look for your own answers. I know for myself, I walked away from the book with more questions then I had going in, but it also outlined a path toward answering them, which is to say, it got me off my ass and into the gym.

‘A Fighter’s Heart’ on Amazon.ca