It’s such a huge privilege to have the opportunity to share my personal story and experiences in my first book. It was difficult at first to open myself up, however it’s been so much fun reliving and reflecting on the whirlwind last four years. It was reading a book that was part of the catalyst to this chapter of my life, so even if just one person has the same experience reading my book, it will be awesome. I am really proud of Beyond the Horizon and I really hope everyone enjoys reading my story.

Little Brown are absolutely delighted to be working with Richard – his story is fascinating, dramatic and inspiring in equal measure and I’m tremendously excited about bringing it to as many readers as possible. It’s rare to find an author in this genre who manages to balance the drive and determination that are required for extreme feats of athleticism and endurance with an equal measure of humility and candour, so the fact that Richard is so down to earth already sets him apart from the rest of the field.

If you read one book this week, make it Richard Parks' stunning insight into the pain of life after sport. I do not think I have ever read such a vivid, moving and utterly authentic description of what the end of a professional sporting life can mean.

Contained within it are some of the most honest, heartfelt, insightful passages you will find in any sporting autobiography. Anyone with a tendency to doubt themselves – or who wonder if they have it in them to prosper in the wider world – should buy his book.

His accounts of the almost masochistic challenges he sets himself are eye opening, and make one wonder what drives a person to push themselves to the edge (and sometimes beyond) of their physical and mental limits. The appeal of this book however, is that Parks goes to great lengths to answer exactly this question, and his explanations of how he turned his insecurities into strengths that would allow him to achieve great things is quite inspirational. The fact that he always seems to be able to go beyond that ‘last room’ inside himself, as he puts it, when suffering physically is what marks him out as an exceptional athlete, and person. ‘Beyond The Horizon’ is as impressive a book as the endeavors it describes, and comes highly recommended.

Richard Parks takes us on a journey to hell and back in this gripping account of his post-retirement life. Parks’s brutal honesty about his fears and pain, make this a compelling read.