Frustration touches everyone. It shows up in traffic jams, difficult conversations, workplace pressure, broken expectations, and moments when life refuses to cooperate. Yet despite how common it is, frustration remains one of the least understood emotions-and one of the most dangerous when ignored.
In Fractured, Kevin Rice takes readers deep into the anatomy of frustration, revealing how it quietly accumulates over time and how it can fracture judgment, relationships, careers, and well-being if left unchecked. Drawing from a career spanning municipal policing, federal service, executive protection, and behavioral instruction, Rice has seen firsthand how unresolved frustration can push capable, well-intentioned people toward decisions they never thought they would make.
The book begins with a simple but powerful premise: frustration is not the enemy. It is a signal. Like pain in the body, frustration exists to communicate that something is wrong-an unmet expectation, a loss of control, a violated value, or a lingering emotional wound. Problems arise not because frustration exists, but because most people were never taught how to process it.
Fractured explores frustration across a wide spectrum of high-stress environments, including law enforcement, healthcare, the military, aviation, education, and corporate life. Rice examines real-world examples of occupational burnout, emotional overload, and decision fatigue, illustrating how cumulative stress-rather than single catastrophic events-often leads to breakdowns in judgment. He challenges the notion that resilience means simply "pushing through" and instead argues for intentional recovery, reflection, and emotional regulation.
A unique feature of the book is its exploration of sabbaticals and structured breaks as tools for preventing long-term frustration and burnout. Borrowing from academic and corporate models, Rice makes a compelling case that periodic recovery and renewal are not luxuries but necessities-especially for professionals working under constant pressure and scrutiny.
At the core of Fractured is the FRACTURE Method, a seven-step framework designed to help readers interrupt the frustration cycle before it spirals. Grounded in psychology, emotional intelligence, and practical experience, the method teaches readers how to:
Feel frustration without feeding it
Reflect on the deeper root of the emotion
Adjust perspective to reduce emotional load
Choose constructive, values-based responses
Take care of the body's stress response
Understand recurring frustration patterns
Rewire thinking through growth and gratitude
Rather than offering abstract theory or motivational platitudes, Fractured provides actionable tools that can be applied in real time-whether you're sitting in traffic, facing a tense workplace interaction, or navigating a major life decision. The book emphasizes small, intentional shifts that restore agency, clarity, and control.
Written in an honest, reflective tone, Fractured blends storytelling, research, and practical insight without judgment or blame. It acknowledges that frustration is part of being human-but insists that how we respond to it determines whether we fracture under pressure or grow stronger because of it.
This book is for professionals under stress, leaders making difficult decisions, and anyone who has ever wondered why they react the way they do when life doesn't go as planned. More importantly, it is for readers who want to reclaim control, build emotional resilience, and turn frustration from a breaking point into a breakthrough.
