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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Courtesy of Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus.
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.
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