S I L E N C E WA S M Y F I R S T LANGUAGE IS NOT A MEMOIR. IT’S A RECKONING.

Rich Dunning was raised in a Bronx basement where silence settled deeper than bruises and lasted longer than apologies. This is the account of a boy who trained himself to vanish in plain sight, and of the man who fought his way back into presence. It is a story shaped by the brutal conversion of fear into vigilance, of pain into propulsion, and of a voice long buried beneath wreckage rising at last to speak. Told in precise, cinematic scenes, Dunning’s voice does not plead for sympathy.

It asserts its presence with clarity and force. This is not a narrative of healing framed by resolution. It is a sustained act of survival, built sentence by sentence, without concession. The truth it carries is unflinching and its impact does not fade. For listeners of Can’t Hurt Me and Heavy, this is a work defined by sustained tension, control, and the refusal to look away. It is a narrative written for those who have lived without language for their pain, and who continue to bear what has never been named. This is not a story that resolves. It is a record of endurance, shaped in exact detail. It does not end with closure. It remains, and it travels with the listener long after the final page.

Exclusive to the Audiobook Edition

Included with this audiobook is an exclusive three-hour conversation between Rich Dunning and clinical psychologist Dr. Marisa Caponi.

With no questions off limits, they explore the untold story behind the memoir—childhood trauma, addiction, alcoholism, recovery, forgiveness, and healing. Together they examine not only what happened, but why it happened, how trauma shaped a lifetime, and what recovery truly required.

Raw, deeply personal, and unavailable anywhere else, this exclusive companion conversation reveals what the printed page never could.

For many listeners, this conversation may become as unforgettable as the memoir itself.