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A Life Too Short

The Tragedy of Robert Enke

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A Life Too Short

By: Ronald Reng
Narrated by: John Telfer
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Why does an international footballer with the World at his feet decide to take his own life?

On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty two years old.

Viewed from the outside, Enke had it all. Here was a professional goalkeeper who had played for a string of Europe's top clubs including Jose Mourinho's Benfica and Louis Van Gaal's Barcelona. Enke was destined to be his country's first choice for years to come. But beneath the bright veneer of success lay a darker story.

In A Life Too Short, award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his lost friend's life. Reng brings into sharp relief the specific demands and fears faced by those who play top-level sport. Heartfelt, but never sentimental he tells the universal tragedy of a talented man's struggles against his own demons.

 Football (Soccer) Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Sports Celebrity Heartfelt Emotionally Gripping
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Critic reviews

One of the most remarkable sports books ever written… A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke… stands as the definite work on mental illness in football (Sam Wallace)
Incredible… It’s a stunning, fascinating and ultimately heartbreaking piece of work that has done so much to further the understanding between mental illness and sport. It is also a reminder that, for all the status and all the luxury which come with being a professional footballer, those lucky enough to make a career from the game are still human beings, too (Tom Hopkinson)
An intensely moving book that transcends football (Raphael Honigstein, Guardian)
Deeply affecting (Ian Hawkey)
A tragic book, but a brilliant one. Reng's is one of the best sports books to have been published in years
All stars
Most relevant
Such a tragic story, so beautifully told. Enke was a great man and his story should be heard by all. Reng tells the story perfectly, his book deserves all the credit it has received.

A great injustice, an outstanding book.

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What a beautifully written book that portrays the struggle robert, his family and friends all endured. An easy read that engages the mind and asks questions throughout about your own perception of mental health. I would highly recommend this book.

Tragic but beautiful

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Absolutely loved this book, an amazing insight into the mind of someone with depression and how it effects those close to them. I didn't really like the narration though it. I think it needed to be a bit more gritty.

Fantastic book

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Hugely powerful, incredibly sad, brilliantly written. This book is a great account of the life and tragic death of Robert Encke

Incredible; sad

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a great insight to a condition people dont recognise and to the struggles that come from playing the great game at the top level

a great insight

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