Souvenirs from an Absurd Life: A Memoir

by Don Dahler

Overview

One man’s unlikely rise from bartender to national television reporter and the incredible adventures he’s had along the way.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky famously noted, “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Don Dahler took these words to heart, causing his entire life to change in a remarkable way. Souvenirs from an Absurd Life presents true stories about a relative nobody once struggling to make rent before he decided he would not accept what appeared to be a dim, boring, unfulfilling future. Instead, Dahler charted a new course for himself, somehow landing an award-winning career as a network correspondent and news anchor, covering a vast array of subjects, including wars, the attacks of 9/11, and the biggest stories of the times for FOX, CNBC, ABC, and CBS News. Despite the considerable odds against him, Don Dahler took his shot, and he made it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798888458570
Publisher:	Post Hill Press
Publication date:	02/25/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Don Dahler has been a fixture on national network news for over three decades. During his career, he received every major award for broadcast journalism, including a Peabody, a duPont-Columbia Award, two Emmys, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, and a New York Press Club journalism award. He also covered major news stories, such as global wars, school shootings, presidential elections, and natural disasters. He was the first network correspondent to report live from the scene on 9/11. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, his career as a journalist, filmmaker, novelist, and biographer led him to over 120 countries, often living in places like Africa and Asia for months at a time. He was born in Colorado Springs to an Air Force family and now resides in New Jersey with his wife, two children, two dogs, two cats, and a gecko. He is an avid golf, tennis, and pickleball player.

Editorial Reviews

Souvenirs is a fascinating look at one former network correspondent’s adventures. Don Dahler has a knack for making us feel like we’re alongside for a ride throughout his career, across the globe. He effortlessly weaves a word picture in such an entertaining way. There are many surprises, some laughs, and probably a few tears. Don’s anecdotes will grab you from page one. All I can say is, Don, thanks for sharing your “souvenirs” with the world.

Jerry Barmash

It was an honor to have Don embedded with our battalion as we conducted operations in Iraq. He was just like another member of the team! I always felt comfortable with Don around when we were conducting operational planning or giving operations briefs to the commanders. I never worried about sensitive information being "leaked out"...Don was a trusted agent and always followed the guidelines. He did an exceptional job of covering our unit and telling our story to the public. We have been life-long friends for the past twenty-one years and I count it a true blessing to have had the good fortunes of being teamed up with Don during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Jim Shaver

Souvenirs from an Absurd Life had to be written. It is an immersive quest of a journalist to tell stories from around the world through the people impacted. No one gets to do what Dahler has done. You understand Dahler’s drive to never accept what is after he breaks the nose of a bully as a child. From Iraq, Afghanistan, West Africa, Kazakhstan, Nairobi, Malawi, Uganda, just to name a few. From wars to nature to the human spirit. Dahler’s writing about the famous, the infamous and real people leave you in awe in what he has experienced. Holding the shriveled little hand of Mother Theresa, hearing a 10-year-old Serbian boy describe his mother being shot before his eyes – Dahler crying as he listened. “Oh my god,” while on live as he saw the 2nd plane hit the World Trade Center. Dahler writes, “history is rarely predictable.” His memoir is a must read. An experiential journey you will envy and understand people and the world with a little more clarity.

Susan Zirinsky

Every experience, every “souvenir” has made Dahler a deeper, more important writer and reporter than before. “Souvenirs” not a heavy, analytical treatise on 9/11 and its aftermath. It’s fascinating, almost entertaining snapshots from far corners of the world we’ll never see, but should now understand how the sheer randomness of where we’re born matters more today than ever.

Shelley Ross

Like his hero, the great CBS News correspondent Charles Kuralt, Don Dahler has been everywhere, seen everything, and brought it home to viewers, and now readers, in vivid, memorable stories. Reading his terrific memoir Souvenirs from an Absurd Life is like pulling up a barstool next to a charming raconteur and staying way past closing time.

Chris Whipple

You think you know someone. And then you read their book.

I’ve known Don Dahler for twenty-five years, and always liked the way he told stories, and connected with TV viewers.

But the stories he tells in this book aren’t just about news. They’re about life. His life. From his less-than-simple childhood, to his successful career.

And it turns out, Don had a powerful goal from the beginning. A goal that I think most of us wish we had staked our claim to: Doing things that are at all times interesting, and made a difference.

Which is what this book does.

Bill Ritter

In both harrowing and hilarious detail, my old CBS News colleague details his life inside and out of Journalism; stories too good (& bad) to be true, Forrest Gumpian moments that link him to some of the most riveting people and events of the last forty years.

Always a sage advice giver, I thought I knew Don Dahler from our years on Correspondent Row, but clearly, he saved a lot for Souvenirs. Come on... Donnie D... Mickey Mantle, George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Mother Teresa? Not to mention shark bites, a friendly Octopus, aliens & Al Qaeda?

From the trenches, both war zones red carpet, and I still longed for more.

Having shared a few secrets of my own, Souvenirs is an incredible romp showcasing the heart and soul of a true global journeyman! A man who knows how to "move well!" And the mystery we all hold in ourselves!

You won’t be able to put it down!

Michelle Miller

This memoir takes readers from his difficult childhood as a “military brat,” punctuated by confrontations with schoolyard bullies and an abusive father, through his development as a reporter. It culminates with a didactic list of takeaways from his life and career... A fast-paced, lighthearted reflection on an unpredictable life.

Kirkus Reviews