Clint Malarchuk
CBC Books | | Posted: January 10, 2019 1:31 PM | Last Updated: January 21, 2019
Clint Malarchuk's memoir The Crazy Game — co-written with Dan Robson — is on the Canada Reads 2019 longlist. The final five books and the panellists defending them will be revealed on Jan. 31, 2019.
The 2019 debates are happening March 25-28, 2019 and will be hosted by Ali Hassan.
About Clint Malarchuk
Clint Malarchuk is a former NHL goaltender who played for the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres. Originally from Grande Prairie, Alberta, he later became a goaltending coach for the Calgary Flames. Today, he lives on a ranch in Nevada.
Malarchuk is perhaps best known for surviving a near death experience in 1989 when another hockey player's skate blade sliced through his carotid artery in one of the most dramatic on-ice injuries of all time. His book The Crazy Game, co-written by Dan Robson, describes his struggle with PTSD following that incident, and with mental health and substance abuse challenges throughout his life — culminating in a suicide attempt.
- Why former NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk wrote about his struggles with addiction and his mental health
Clint Malarchuk on recovery as a constant journey
"It's my story and I can't screw it up. It's pretty easy for me to tell my story about trauma, about addiction. My father was an abusive alcoholic and so I start [there] and talk about how later trauma affected me. As one doctor told me, I was the 'perfect storm' when the tragic accident happened in Buffalo. It really set me off in a lot of bad ways, with obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks and the craziest night tremors and dreams...
I'm doing great overall. I have a lot of recovery [work] that I do daily to keep my balance and I do it and life is wonderful. I'm very grateful to be alive and to be here. - Clint Malarchuk
"Being a survivor, I'm a big advocate for helping people on addiction, because there's no way I would have pulled that trigger had I been sober... [Today] I'm doing great overall. I have a lot of recovery [work] that I do daily to keep my balance and I do it and life is wonderful. I'm very grateful to be alive and to be here."