Jeremy Renner Refuses to Be Haunted

MORE THAN TWO YEARS AFTER FACING DEATH IN HIS OWN DRIVEWAY, THE AVENGERS STAR SHARES NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE ACCIDENT-AND THE GRUELING AFTERMATH-IN A NEW MEMOIR

- By ALEX ROSS

Jeremy Renner has seen his left eye with his right onebut he doesn't feel traumatized about it. After a devastating accident at his Lake Tahoe home on Jan. 1, 2023, Renner promised himself that if he survived, he'd never have another bad day. While trying to prevent his 14,000-lb. snowplow from crashing into his nephew Alex, then 27, Renner fell under the tracks, leaving him with 38 broken bones, a collapsed lung and half of his face crushed. Despite nearly insurmountable odds, he lived.

Now, in a new memoir, My Next Breath (out April 29), the Avengers actor, 54, describes his near-death experience and road to recovery in candid, excruciating detail, as well as how his family banded together with enough love to carry him through. "I'm not haunted by the incident," says Renner, whose career is thriving again with a new season of the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown and a role in Netflix's upcoming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. "I am reminded of my new reality, but it's wonderfully positive. I didn't die."

Renner credits his daughter Ava, now 12, whom he shares with ex-wife Sonni, for giving him a reason to live as he fought through the darkest parts of his journey. The book reveals publicly for the first time how his mother, Valerie, broke the news to Ava of his nearly fatal accident (see excerpt) and how the brave tween helped him recover.