“Beautifully Broken,” a documentary directed by veteran filmmaker Daniel Herzog, was screened on Monday, Oct. 6 at the Student Union Theatre. The screening was followed by a Q&A session led by Herzog and Jared Buchanan, the film’s main subject.
Buchanan’s story is as somber as it is uplifting. In March 2013, his father, Paul Buchanan, a veteran police officer with the East Hartford police department, tragically committed suicide after a lengthy battle with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. This event did and still profoundly affects Jared, his brother Benjamin and their mother Patricia. But in a powerful message he left to his family before he passed away, Paul encouraged his family to “make my death an issue so you can help others like me.” And that’s exactly what Buchanan, now a mental health counselor and motivational speaker, did.
Since then, he has completed numerous marathons and ultramarathons across some of the world’s most grueling terrains, pouring all of his energy into raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention in memory of his father.
“Suicide is a tough topic to talk about,” Buchanan told the audience before the screening. “But the point of this film is to let people who are suffering know that you are not alone and you will always have people there for you.”
A former Marine Infantry veteran, Buchanan’s transformative path for healing has involved conquering 100 and 200+ mile races. Along the way, he experienced even more hardship when on Veteran’s Day in 2019, he was hit by a Chevy Tahoe while jogging in Manchester, Connecticut. This only enhanced Buchanan’s determination to inspire people and change lives.
In 2023, he took on the most arduous race of his career, the Cocodona 250, which is an innervating ultramarathon covering 250 miles of vast terrain in Arizona, with an estimated elevation gain of roughly 40,000 feet. Buchanan’s preparation for the race, his experiences during the event and the aftermath of the Cocodona are what’s being followed in “Beautifully Broken.”
“I wanted to make a film that showcased not just Jared’s advocacy and passion for this issue but also displayed all the hard work and time he put in for this marathon in memory of his father,” Herzog, who directed the film, said during the Q&A session. “Jared is one of the most upbeat, positive people I know, so making this film with him was really fun and rewarding.”
Through this transformative process, Buchanan has not only been able to heal personally but also heal his relationships with other people. According to the documentary, Buchanan and his younger brother had a hostile relationship growing up due to their conflicting personalities, and they even stopped speaking for a period of time. “I’m probably the only person who’s felt every emotion imaginable towards Jared,” Ben says in the documentary. But Jared Buchanan’s remarkable strides as a runner have helped Ben see the other side of his older brother.
“We text each other almost every day, we’re really close,” Jared Buchanan told the audience members. “Which, is the most important thing a person needs when they’re suffering: people who care.”