Broken Boy

Trying to Figure Out Life

De: Fabian Arnold

Narrado por: Fabian Arnold

Broken Boy is a raw look back at the lessons I’ve learned through my own struggles with mental health, the setbacks that nearly broke me, and the small victories that kept me going. This book isn’t just my story; it’s a collection of insights, reflections, and lessons inspired by other books, documentaries, and speeches that helped me find shortcuts along the way. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt stuck, out of place, or unsure of how to keep moving forward.

Whether you’re searching for meaning, trying to overcome your past, or simply hoping to build a life that finally feels like your own, Broken Boy is here to guide you. Think of it as a summary of everything I’ve gathered on this journey called life—a guide to help you find strength, face your fears, and create a future that feels true to you. Sometimes, the answers we need are already within us; we just have to go through the tough stuff to bring them to light.

"Life is like a rollercoaster filled with ups and downs and as soon as we learn to enjoy the ride we can find the true purpose in life. The only thing about life is that we cant just buy another ticket when it's over. So f*&k it, and live."

Since childhood, I always felt like something was a bit “off” in my head, like I was on the outside, watching life go by without quite fitting in. In my head I felt broken. As I grew older, life threw plenty of curveballs my way—depression, heartbreak and the constant pressure to fit in. I never really knew what I wanted, and for a long time, I was just trying to find my place. After successful studies as as an insurance merchant, I went to Australia and eventually found myself drawn into a new life as a model, actor, and writer, now navigating the highs and lows of Hollywood.

©2024 Fabian Arnold (P)2025 Fabian Arnold

Thoughtful

Let me first start with the narration. I am a firm believer that words have power. This was made only more so by Fabian using his own voice with his own words.
Now let’s talk about the book itself. I originally bought the book as a resource because I have been grappling as to how to help my adult kids, going through similar struggles, without taking away from their right to go through personal growth experiences. Surprisingly, however, from the very first chapters I not only saw a reflection of what my kids had gone through in their early lives, but mine as well. And the similarities went on as I continued to read. Now while Fabian’s journey is as unique to him as ours are to ourselves, his insights are thoughtful and well developed.
And although I am probably the same age as his own parents and past the point that some of his advice would be relevant, I found myself doing a mental checklist more than once to a lot of what he was saying. So, I guess what I’m saying to the point, is that this book is not just relevant to his immediate age group but beyond.
I have read, marked, and reread the hard copy of this book, but still was very excited for the audible to be released. The answer to why is that this is the kind of book that the more you read/listen the more you realize interesting facts and ideas that you missed before. So for this reason I would highly recommend buying the hard copy for more in depth study and thought (especially for the question sections), and get the audible as its companion. I listened to it all the way through before writing this review, so I could say this honestly.
As I cannot read and drive at the same time, I love audible versions of books. But what struck me about this version, as stated above, was the power one can give to their own words in verbal form. Not only did I once again hear new things, but the feeling behind the words themselves brought new insight and truth to the words previously only read.
This book has not only helped me reevaluate some of my own life choices and given me pause to my own journey ahead, but has also definitely given me a way to relate to my own adult children going through their own growing pains. His perspectives on the things most important in life are spot on! This is a must read/listen to pretty much everyone. We all have or will struggle, we all have or will deal with issues we think are beyond us, and we all have or will continue to realign our path forward. If you are ready and open to self evaluation and growth, this book will help you. So once again, use a credit on this book and consider buying the hard copy as well.

Raw, Real, Relatable, interesting.

I already read this book in its physical form and I felt then the raw emotion and vulnerability that the author put into his story, nothing about that has changed in this audio version, infact it feels more raw, more real and relatable hearing the person who wrote this; that went through this explaining it to you in his own words his own voice. Hearing where his emotions hit harder, you can tell that english is a second language to him as he even explains the difficulty in forming his words in English versus speaking his native language. But the story itself is relatable to so many, the struggles, the mental health. The longing to understand why you feel different and the courage it takes to do what he has done.

I always wanted my son to read the book. Because I really feel it will help him with his own struggles and issues mostly brought on by his health but there nonetheless; Possibly better than I myself could, this could help understanding some things and getting a different perspective. But my son has issues with his ADHD to sit down and read a book. So I was even more interested in getting the audio version. I could not have been happier with this. It is something I will listen to again and again overtime which says a lot because I've never really been into biographies, or autobiographies, they've just never interested me but this one. Yes, but this one seems to be unlike most others I have ever tried to read.