Twenty Times I Almost Died: Life Lessons from the Edge of Survival

A gripping memoir of survival and resilience, sharing true stories of close calls and the lessons they revealed about living with purpose, character, and strength.

How do you live after narrowly escaping death?

In Twenty Times I Almost Died: Life Lessons from the Edge of Survival, John Spencer, a soldier, father, and one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare, shares gripping true stories drawn from a lifetime spent on the cusp of danger.

Transporting the reader through combat tours in Iraq and research trips through modern war zones to childhood struggles, freak accidents, and near disasters, each chapter recounts a close call that could have been his last.

Written with unflinching honesty and vivid detail, this memoir is both a record of near death experiences and a guide for living with purpose. Readers will find inspiration in Spencer’s resilience, candor, and refusal to quit while discovering wisdom that applies as much to parenting, leadership, and personal growth as it does to the battlefield.

Twenty Times I Almost Died is for readers of military and adventure nonfiction seeking authenticity and insight. In it, Spencer offers a powerful reminder that every hardship carries a lesson—and every lesson can change how we live.