Running Naked

Surviving the Legacy of Family in Rural Nebraska

By: Colby Coash

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

FROM DUSTY ROADS AND DEAD ENDS, A NEBRASKA NATIVE SON FINDS HIS WAY
A former Nebraska state senator hails from the heart of rural Nebraska—tiny Bassett, Nebraska, population 1,010—where his father and grandfather owned and operated the fertilizer plant, the backbone of the rural community.
Born into the tapestry of small-town existence, Coash’s narrative unfolds against the backdrop of tight-knit neighbors and the enduring spirit of the American small town.
In this inspiring coming-of-age memoir. Coash chronicles the challenges of the rural economy on his father and his fertilizer business, captures the heart of the heartland in growing up in a place where everybody knows you, painfully tells how his mother abandoned the family for California dreams, and reveals why he, too, couldn’t get out of town fast enough. Becoming a fertilizer man like his father was not in his future.
His journey takes him running shockingly naked across the theater stage in college to the hallowed halls of the Nebraska State Capitol as a senator, with a passion for something beyond the confines of his hometown as he pursued a greater purpose—and one that makes his father proud.
Honest, unfiltered, with dreams as ephemeral as the tumbleweeds that surrounded him, Coash runs from his small-town roots into a life of purpose fulfilled by one of life’s great joys: his own role as a father.

resilience

Running Naked: Surviving the Legacy of Family in Rural Nebraska is a full-of-hardships memoir that captures the complexities of growing up in an imperfectly perfect family. With honesty, the author painted a picture of the locality where silence, struggle, and survival shaped his identity. A classic story of resilience after trauma.

Is your dad proud of you?

I found myself echoing the author’s sentiment, as I, too, wrestled with the lifelong question of whether I’d ever earned my father’s approval. I, too, grew up in a small town, and this book was hilarious because everyone knows your parents, and every misdeed is known. From the very first chapter, Colby Coash had me hooked, and I couldn’t stop myself from staying up late to listen to the remarkable story.