What Doesn't Kill Us

“Fresh and exciting, this book has wide appeal for readers interested in health, sports, self-improvement, and extreme challenges.”—Booklist

“Engaging . . . This is part guide and part popular science book; readers will learn about how Neanderthals used the body’s ‘brown fat’ to keep warm and how exposure nearly reverses the symptoms of diabetes. The accomplishments Carney documents are unbelievable and fascinating; this isn’t a how-to for those looking to perform extraordinary feats, but it is an entertaining account that will appeal to the adventurous.”—Publishers Weekly

“Scott Carney is so curious about getting to the truth of things that he is willing to endure great pain and suffering to get there. While investigating the controversial methods of Wim Hof and others operating on the scientific fringe, Carney entered a skeptic yet emerged a true believer. In What Doesn’t Kill Us, readers get to follow him along on his transformational journey, and the insights are truly fascinating. Informative, fun, and with a healthy degree of danger, this is a book for the adventurer in all of us.”—Gabrielle Reece, co-founder, XPT (Extreme Performance Training)

“The further we get from the harsh environmental conditions that once threatened our existence, the more we need them. I see this every weekend at a Spartan Race somewhere in the world. Millions of otherwise sane people line up to suffer and push themselves to their physical limits, and it feels good. What Doesn’t Kill Us is a fascinating investigation into the innate urge that drives people like these, and reveals how some have managed to use environmental conditioning to accomplish truly extraordinary things.” —Joe DeSena, founder, Spartan Race

“As a Navy SEAL, you live by the mantra, ‘what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger.’ We would hear this phrase and repeat it, but we never had any proof that it was factual. Yet through comprehensive study, Scott Carney has brilliantly documented how engaging in environmental conditioning, breathing, meditation, and other techniques can actually make us physically and mentally stronger. What Doesn’t Kill Us is a fascinating book that will captivate all who read it and that will be of immense value to those in the military, those who are active in sports, and those who seek an alternate means of developing greater mental and physical strength.”—Don D. Mann, New York Times bestselling author, Inside SEAL Team SIX

“Damn fun and extremely well-researched, What Doesn’t Kill Us is a great addition to the canon of high performance literature!”— Steven Kotler, New York Times bestselling author of Abundance and The Rise of Superman

“When it’s cold outside, do you turn the heating up? Do you always put a coat on before going out? Do you think your comfortable life is good for you? If so, you have to read Scott Carney’s What Doesn’t Kill Us. Through some great stories — which often involve Carney trudging through snow without much on — and some serious research, he shows us how to escape the bland, shuffling gait of our centrally-heated, fleece-jacketed, molly-coddled lives by diving head-first into the ice-cold, axe-sharp, scary experiences that made our ancestors’ hearts beat faster every day. If we do that, we can awaken from the dull slumber of modern life and open our eyes to a better, healthier dawn of crisp air, better circulation, and the ability to truly mean it when we say: I’m alive. Buy this book, and you’ll emerge a stronger, healthier, more human human.”— James Wallman, author of Stuffocation