Broken Mirrors, Steady Ground

By: Alex Parkview

Narrated by: Mark Cyr

At three years old, Alex Parkview walked up to a teenage neighbor girl and announced, “Hi, my name is Alex Parkview and I’m nine years old.” He knew he was lying. She was pretty, and pretty made him want to be bigger. That moment—bold, impulsive, hungry for attention—set the pattern for everything that followed.

In this raw and unflinching memoir, Alex traces a life of fractured reflections: three marriages that crumbled under pressure, two combat tours in Iraq that left invisible wounds, chronic pain that demanded steel in his spine and soon his hip, and the unrelenting echoes of PTSD that turned quiet rooms into battlefields.

From a precocious kid chasing girls and escaping into video games, to a young husband enlisting to provide, to a father fighting to stay present through chaos, loss, and rock bottom—Alex learned to hold the pieces together without letting them cut deeper.

Through trails that grounded him, music that structured intensity, ancient prayers that anchored chaos, a black cat named Erebus who sensed episodes coming, and the unwavering love of two daughters who witnessed it all, he forged containment: a way to live with what persists instead of being consumed by it.

Broken Mirrors, Steady Ground is a testament to survival—not as triumph, but as deliberate, daily choice. For anyone carrying unrelenting weight—veterans, chronic pain warriors, parents holding it together on fumes—this is proof that even a cracked reflection can still show the way forward.

Mature Content Warning: Contains explicit language, sexual content, violence, substance use, and discussions of suicide and trauma.

©2026 Alex Parkview (P)2026 Alex Parkview

The Weight We Don’t See

The story captures the journey of becoming a man and the struggles that can slowly consume us if left unchecked. At its core, it’s a reminder of the importance of always moving forward, even when progress feels small.

Great story

Great story with a great storyline. It's very well done and very well thought out. Excellent narrating and it does have alot of hot scenes. Definitely recommend this book.

A decade of rough experiences distilled into snapshots

Some people go through tough times. Others use these challenges to learn from past mistakes and try to improve. The truly exceptional can have a metric ton of crap fall on them, push through only to find more on the other side, then write about it so we can perceive but a small taste of the difficulties that a fair amount of everyday people are struggling with on a regular basis. In this steady recounting of a few handfuls of major life events and surprises, we feel the weight and burdens of one person trying to get by and mostly do the right things for the benefit of those around him. Narration by Mark Cyr is appropriately detached and straightforward, allowing the author's own words tell the story while our own feelings amplify over time. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.0x.]

Raw emotion, powerful story of a military veteran

Broken Mirrors, Steady Ground is a short read, but it carries real weight. Alex Parkview writes with a raw honesty that makes the story feel immediate and deeply personal. He doesn’t soften the edges of his experiences or gloss over the darker chapters of his life. Instead, he faces them directly, laying bare the struggles that so many veterans quietly endure.

What makes this book especially impactful is the balance between vulnerability and resilience. Alex not only shares the demons he has wrestled with, but also the practical and personal steps he has taken to steady himself. His reflections feel lived-in and authentic, not theoretical or distant.

This book will resonate strongly with veterans, but its reach goes beyond that audience. Anyone grappling with PTSD, work or family burnout, or religious trauma will find something meaningful here. It is an honest, unflinching account of hardship and healing, and absolutely worth the read.

Very human and dark story

If this is a true story, it's a very real story i could believe happening; if not, then the author has certainly seen a lot of similar events. would certainly recommend this book if you want a real human story