The Hard Way: Adapt, Survive and Win

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It became the biggest selling first appearance novel of that summer. In the year 2009, the novel was listed as one of the 100 novels which shaped the decade and was later chosen as one of the best titles for World Book Night in 2011. From the roguish humble beginnings to the inspirational leader that he is today, its all there. As always with these books you're left wanting more, I want the juicy details of SAS tours and action behind enemy lines but of course these cant be told. Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked. That loss of community and identity coincides with too much time for reflection. Smells, certain songs – it’s unpredictable what will trigger a memory of a traumatic event in your service past.

Mark Billingham - Book Series In Order Mark Billingham - Book Series In Order

For Billingham, Bosnia was the most mentally gruelling conflict. With their role as observers, the British forces were unable to do anything but witness the unspeakable atrocities happening around them. Billingham’s own understanding of mental illness has undoubtedly changed. However, he admits to finding it difficult how easily terms like PTSD are used in the wider public: “It makes it harder for people who are really in need of help to ask for it,” he says. “We’ve labelled everything. The truth is we’re all going to be sad and depressed at times. Life has its peaks and troughs. When things aren’t going in your favour you don’t need to be seen to be suffering. But if you need help, reach out for it.” Billy Billingham grew up tough. Leaving school at eleven, the threat of borstal hanging over his head, running with gangs in Birmingham, and almost being killed in a knife fight eventually led to Billy discovering the British armed forces at sixteen. It would be the making of him.It is why he is a passionate supporter of the RBLI’s Tommy Club, founded in 2020 in response to the pandemic with the aim of supporting the nation’s most vulnerable veterans. The RBLI is one of the charities chosen for this year’s Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal. I like the way that he has respected the secrecy of the sas by not revealing to much about his service but also just enough to keep the reader engaged.

Billy Billingham MBE - Ex SAS Leader | Presenter | Author Billy Billingham MBE - Ex SAS Leader | Presenter | Author

The second incredible thriller in the Matt Mason series: based in the high-octane, high-stakes world of the Special Forces. He is Chief Instructor on Channel 4’s hit show SAS: Who Dares Wins, alongsideDS Rudy Reyes, Jason FoxandChris Oliver. The test is physical and draws on mental and emotional strength that ultimately reveals the deepest and truest character of the recruits. It starts with his childhood and goes through various bits of his life till now. The way he speaks about his friends and family, his comrades, Parachute Regiment and The Regiment - is wholly full of love and care. Regardless if they were nice or not. No one trains to see someone tortured and mutilated. There’s no training for that,” he says. Camaraderie the keyPremiering in Jan 2023, Billy is a DS in this all-new Fox TV series in which household names endure some of the harshest, most gruelling challenges based on the Special Forces selection process. At the too he has his life lessons he adheres to which are informative and you know when he makes decisions later in the book these were his base of thinking.