The Silence That Broke Me: I Thrived in the Pressure Cooker
— Until I Drowned
From the Prologue
A taste of the story before you dive in
If you're a CEO, a founder, or an entrepreneur, you already know there are things you can’t say out loud. Not to your team. Not to your board. Sometimes, not even to your spouse.
You carry pressure no one else sees — until the day it breaks you.
If you’ve ever kept it together in public while falling apart in private, this story will feel uncomfortably familiar.
I spent decades as a CEO — respected, decisive… and quietly unraveling behind the scenes. When the pressure finally swallowed me, I learned the high cost of silence and the surprising kind of freedom that can come from losing everything.
This isn’t a redemption story.
It’s not a guide or a framework.
It’s a study in what happens when we mistake composure for resilience, and control for strength.
Written from the inside — by someone who built a life that looked solid, even as it quietly cracked underneath.
This book will meet you where you are.
“I didn’t expect to feel so seen. The chapter on the mask hit like a gut punch.”
— Early reader.
“Frank Halden doesn’t preach. He exposes. And it stays with you.”
— Leadership coach, anonymous
If you’ve been holding it together too long, this story will feel uncomfortably familiar… and maybe exactly what you need.
Don’t wait for the cracks to spread — choose your copy and start reading today.