NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 2026--
Harper Horizon will publish Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle, the new memoir from actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and global action icon Dolph Lundgren, on September 22, 2026. In this candid and deeply personal book, Lundgren reflects on a life shaped by ambition, reinvention, hardship, and endurance, offering readers a clear-eyed look at the battles that defined him both on and off screen.
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Best known for his breakout role as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, Lundgren rose to fame in the 1980s and went on to build a career spanning more than one hundred films. Over the decades, he has also worked as a producer, writer, and director, becoming one of the most recognizable figures in action cinema. In Fights Worth Fighting, he moves beyond the image the public knows to share the story behind it.
The memoir traces Lundgren’s path from his upbringing in Sweden to his early years as a chemical engineering student and martial arts champion, before his unlikely rise to international stardom. Along the way, he writes about the pressures of fame, the physical and emotional demands of a competitive industry, and the private struggles that shaped his outlook on success, identity, and survival.
At the heart of the book is Lundgren’s reflection on resilience. As he faces one of the most serious challenges of his life, a battle with cancer, he examines what it means to keep moving forward when strength is tested in ways the world cannot see. Blending personal stories with practical lessons, Fights Worth Fighting offers insight on discipline, mental toughness, emotional honesty, and the power of starting again.
“Strength isn’t what most people think. For me it started as survival. I’m excited to share my whole story. And the fights…that were actually worth fighting,” said Lundgren.
“This is a deeply human story about resilience, discipline, reinvention, and the public and private battles that have shaped Dolph Lundgren into who he is today. With remarkable honesty, Dolph reflects on his journey from a shy engineering student to global action icon, while revealing the setbacks, doubts, and defining moments that forged his character along the way,” said Austin Ross, Senior Acquisitions Editor of Harper Horizon. “Fights Worth Fighting is an inspiring reminder that strength is not measured by fame or physical power alone, but by the courage to keep moving forward when life demands the most of us.”
More than a Hollywood memoir, Fights Worth Fighting is a message of perseverance for readers facing challenges of their own. The book will be available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook with Lundgren narrating. You can pre-order today at: fightsworthfighting.com.
About Dolph Lundgren:
Dolph Lundgren began his career earning a master’s degree in chemical engineering and becoming a Fulbright scholar, military officer, and international black belt karate champion before switching tracks and entering the world of Hollywood as an action hero. His breakthrough came in Rocky IV (1985) when he played the formidable Soviet boxer Ivan Drago opposite Sylvester Stallone, with whom he reunited onscreen in the blockbuster franchise The Expendables.
About Harper Horizon:
Harper Horizon is a Nashville-based imprint of HarperCollins Focus focused on the stories, values and diverse voices of Americana and beyond, publishing authors such as Penn & Kim Holderness, Willie Nelson, Luke Russert, Robert Edsel, Nia Sioux, Leland Vittert and more. For more information, please visit www.harpercollinsfocus.com/HarperHorizon.
Courtesy of Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus.
GILGIL, Kenya (AP) — Flames ripped through a dormitory at a girls’ boarding school in central Kenya on Thursday, killing at least 16 students and injuring scores of others in the latest deadly school fire in the East African country. Police questioned surviving students about how it started.
The fire happened at the Utumishi Girls School, which has more than 800 students, in the Gilgil area of central Kenya, Education Minister Julius Ogamba said, adding that 79 students were injured in the disaster.
Detectives were questioning students to determine whether any wrongdoing triggered the fire, and Ogamba said authorities were trying to find out whether the school's fire safety manual had been adhered to.
The victims were not yet been identified, a source of anger and frustration for parents who gathered outside the ruined dormitory. Some of them angrily confronted police guarding the site, demanding to see the remains of still-uncollected victims.
Bernard Omwandho, a representative of the parents’ association, urged calm as the police investigation continued.
“Most of the parents who are still here are those whose daughters are being questioned,” he said, adding that he hoped that those being questioned will be “able to at least shed some light or give us a hint on what really transpired.”
The school is located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. The government-owned secondary school is managed and sponsored by the Kenya Police Service. Many of the students are the daughters of police officers.
Elizabeth Rioba, a mother of two girls at the school, said she was relieved to see her daughters but expressed concern because one of the girls saw her friend get stuck while trying to jump out of a window.
“She’s very traumatized, but I’m relieved she’s OK and I’m sad for all these children who have died,” she told The Associated Press.
The Kenya Red Cross said several students were evacuated and are receiving treatment in various hospitals. The group said it sent psychological support teams for students and their families.
Kenyan President William Ruto expressed his condolences in a statement. “No words can truly ease the pain of losing young lives filled with promise, hope, and dreams for the future,” Ruto said. “As a nation, we mourn with the parents, guardians, teachers, and fellow students who are enduring this unimaginable tragedy.”
Fires at schools have been a cause of concern for education officials in East Africa, where classrooms and dormitories are often crowded, and there’s usually no firefighting equipment in place. Officials sometimes cite poor electrical connections as sparking blazes.
In 2024, 21 students burned to death in a school fire in central Kenya. Ruto declared three days of mourning.
Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history occurred in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County.
In 2017, 10 students died in a school fire in Nairobi. A student was charged with murder.
Police officers stand near the scene of an early morning fire outbreak at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
An injured student is evacuated following an early morning fire outbreak at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
An injured student is evacuated following an early morning fire outbreak at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
An injured student is evacuated following an early morning fire outbreak at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
An injured student is evacuated following an early morning fire outbreak at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
