Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Hard
A Memoir
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
From the fastest marathoner in the world over fifty—and maybe the planet’s most determined underdog—an inspiring tale of resilience, redemption, and personal transformation.
Born into a broken family in Somerville, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, Ken Rideout grew up in a household persistently scarred by drugs and crime. At just eighteen, he found himself working as a corrections officer in a prison where his stepfather had been incarcerated, and his brother would later serve time. Despite the bleak expectations set by his family, Ken harbored dreams far beyond the confines of his upbringing.
Ken eventually broke free from the gritty streets of Somerville to the high-stakes world of Wall Street, where he carved out a successful career with top firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and Crédit Agricole. Yet, beneath the veneer of success, he battled a decade-long addiction to opioids, spending his hard-earned wealth on pills. The turning point came with the adoption of a daughter from overseas—a wake-up call to become the father and man he always dreamed of being.
Running became Ken’s salvation. With unwavering determination, he willed himself to run vast distances. In three years, Ken transformed from a “running nobody” to the world’s fastest marathoner over fifty. His mantra: Win—or die trying. In the book, Ken shares his awe-inspiring achievements, including, at age fifty-two, winning the Masters (50+) Marathon World Championships in Chicago and conquering the Gobi March ultra-marathon, one of the world’s toughest races. Through sheer resilience and grit, Ken rewrote his story.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Champion marathoner Rideout debuts with a gritty and inspiring autobiography. Born in working-class Somerville, Mass., in 1971, Rideout grew up watching his uncle Barney shooting heroin and vowed never to touch drugs himself. Nevertheless, he went on to experiment with cocaine in college, and after moving to New York City, he suffered an ankle injury and became addicted to opioids. While navigating a vicious, yearslong cycle of sobriety and relapse in the aughts, he found support and relief from his future wife, Shelly. When his sobriety was finally stable, Rideout turned to athletic training to keep his demons at bay, and much of the account details his experiences in triathlons, half-marathons, and marathons. Rideout's recollections of first-place finish after first-place finish—he won his age category in major races including the New York and Boston marathons, making him one of the world's fastest over-50 marathoners—are admirably straightforward: he doesn't brag about his prowess or sugarcoat the anxieties, fears, and physical pain that accompanied him through nearly every victory. Instead, he convincingly argues that hard work and dedication can turn around even the most desperate circumstances. Readers will be galvanized. Agents: Byrd Leavell and Dan Milaschewski, UTA.
