Fearless

The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

By: Eric Blehm

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Inspirational Nonfiction, 2013

Fearless takes you deep into SEAL Team SIX and straight to the heart of one of its most legendary operators.

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan - but he was ready: In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.”

Long before Adam Brown became a member of the elite SEAL Team SIX - the counterterrorism unit that took down Osama bin Laden - he was a fun-loving country boy from Hot Springs, Arkansas, whose greatest goal had been to wear his high school’s football jersey. An undersized daredevil, prone to jumping off roofs into trees and off bridges into lakes, Adam was a kid who broke his own bones but would never break a promise to his parents.

But after high school, Adam fell in with the wrong crowd, and his family watched as his appetite for risk dragged him into a downward spiral that eventually landed him in jail. Battling his inner demons on a last-chance road to redemption, Adam had one goal: to become the best of the best - a US Navy SEAL.

An absorbing chronicle of heroism and humanity, Fearless presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior who would enter a village with weapons in hand to hunt terrorists, only to come back the next day with an armload of shoes and meals for local children. It is a deeply personal, revealing glimpse inside the SEAL Team SIX brotherhood that also shows how these elite operators live out the rest of their lives, away from danger, as husbands, fathers and friends.

Fearless is the story of a man of extremes, whose courage and determination was fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It’s about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses and persevered to reach the top tier of the US military. Always the first to volunteer for the most dangerous assignments, Adam’s final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice.

Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him as fearless.

©2012 eChristian Inc. (P)2012 eChristian Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Nominee, Inspirational Nonfiction, 2013

Without words

I just can’t put into words how this book and true story makes me feel. The courage of our military is truly amazing. Read or listen to the story you won’t be disappointed.

Great book

This is one of the best story I have listen to on a long time. Adam is a warrior. God bless his family.

The greatest life story of tragedy and triumph I've ever heard.

This book puts you on a ride that you'll never forget. Listening to this book took me through every range of emotion imaginable. A man who lost his way and found it only to lose it again and again but ultimately achieved his goals and build a beautiful life along the way. Adam Brown's picture should be shown along side the definition of perseverance in the dictionary. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.

Must listen to this well told story of an humble hero

Superb recount of a man who by the grace of his Lird and Savior transformed his life. one of the best audio books ever and I have listened to over 200.

Hero in all of our hearts

What an amazing story of a man who is flawed and yet still overcomes the adversity to become a tier 1 operator
Family man , Inspiration and hero

His fight with drugs, his love of God

I enjoyed the book as it told his whole story, the good and the bad. His struggles with drugs and how fiercely he fought to become the best he could while coming closer to God and his family. Redemption is for all of us.

How he rose above his trials

The story was good although there were a few bad words that were not wanted but overall a good book

Nothing can take my Spirit from Me

I listened to the audible of Mark Owens and Kevin Maurer's "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden" (2012) shortly after it came out. I liked the book well enough to rate it 5's - it was really great to hear about that mission from someone who was there. I went back and reread my review (which was lackluster and not well received) and realized what I wasn't saying in that review was that I didn't like 'Mark Owens' and I thought it was a "me, me, me" story. There had to be more to being a SEAL than that - and this is the book that shows there is.

"Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown" (2012) is the story of a flawed, heroic man who was genuinely admirable and truly loved. I'm not sure 'Mark Owens' has a conscience. I am certain Adam did. Adam was the kind of kid who stood up to a bully in middle school who was picking on Down Syndrome kid, and packed his rucksack with shoes for children in Afghanistan so they wouldn't have to endure winter barefoot. No one told him he had to do either - he was just that kind of person.

Adam wasn't always heroic. He was a crack addict with 11 felony arrests, spent a long stint in rehab, and relapsed several times. He enlisted in the Navy at 24, and worked with determination to ascend to DEVGRU, and was the best of the best. Adam overcame severe injuries that could have let him retire on full disability - he crushed his right fingers and lost his right eye, but he still passed all of the qualifications tests and reached the pinnacle of his profession.

"Fearless" was published by The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group, and the audio production is by Christian Audio. I was worried that this was going to be a preachy "you should" book, or a tale of unsupported faith. I almost didn't listen - but I remembered that Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption" (2010) had an important spiritual element for Louis Zamperini. Adam Brown's faith, and his family's faith, love and support were even more essential to him than his M4 Carbine.

Even though I knew how Adam's story ended - author Eric Blehm tells of Adam's death at the beginning - I so wanted Adam to live for his beloved wife, Kelley, and adored children, Nathan and Savannah.

Listening to narrator Paul Michael was like listening to a favorite uncle telling a well-loved family story after Thanksgiving dinner.

There's a bonus at the end - an interview with the author. That's heart wrenching, too, because of the loss of so many of Adam's SEAL team members.

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Just amazing......

This is probably one of the best audiobooks I've listened to. I couldn't stop listening. Just a simply amazing story about a fearless soldier but loving, compassionate family man. The narration was perfect as well.

AWESOME...A MUST READ.

Any additional comments?

Although I don't have children, I think this would be a great book for teenagers to read or listen to. It will teach them so much about life. It will show them what happens if you take the wrong path. It teaches all about faith, family and passion. Truly, amazing story. I didn't want it to end.