MY NEXT BREATH

The popular actor’s account of survival and recovery after a near-fatal snowplow accident.

On New Year’s Day 2023, film and television actor Renner (Mayor of Kingstown) was nearly killed when his 14,000-pound snowplow ran over him. He had been clearing snow at his Lake Tahoe retreat following a major storm, helping his nephew Alex carve a path through the drifts. When the plow began to roll toward Alex—after Renner had exited without engaging the emergency brake—he leapt in to stop it, only to be pulled under its treads himself. In his emotionally charged memoir, he recounts the harrowing moments of being crushed, the life-threatening injuries—including dozens of broken bones—and how he stayed conscious while awaiting emergency care by focusing on deep breathing techniques he’d learned as a teenager assisting his mother during Lamaze classes. The incident led to months of surgeries and painful rehabilitation before he could walk again, first with a cane and eventually unaided, later allowing him to return to the Kingstown set, though not without lingering medical issues. Relying on his inner strength and resilience, Renner casts the experience as a crucible—transforming personal catastrophe into a story of renewal, service, and self-discovery. It’s a familiar arc in celebrity memoirs, and one Renner leans into heavily. Much of the content has already surfaced in interviews and a prominent Men’s Health cover story, though the slim volume offers a more deliberately shaped emotional journey. While genuinely uplifting at times, the memoir also feels like a managed effort to reframe survival as a form of personal and professional reinvention. “I am finally in the right place in my life; what happened that day, and the aftermath, served to redirect me into my life’s purpose. But the incident didn’t change me as much as it changed my role in my neighborhood, my city, the world.”

A sincere narrative of survival and self-reinvention.