Review: Back, After the break’

You remember Andrew G? The long haired lout who once presented By Demand on Channel [v] and now hosts The Bachelor/ette and changed his name along the way? Yeah, that guy.

This is a brutally honest memoir about his life, specifically his battles with addiction and mental illness. When we think mental illness, we don’t often think about the successful people who suffer from it. Yet here we are, having an open and honest conversation with one of Australia’s biggest success stories.

Andrew G, as he was once known, has been battling anxiety since childhood. His parents overcame some tremendous struggles: things this generation of Australians have no idea bout and hopefully will never experience for themselves. Anxiety led to an addiction to eating, and later, alcohol and sex. Diagnosed with PTSD in the aftermath of being in New York during September 11, 2001, Andrew’s addictions spiralled out of control and affected every area of his personal and professional life.

This is the story previously only hinted about. Only relatively recently has he spoken about these addictions, and battles with mental illness yet the public were completely unaware of. It’s a brave memoir, recounting specific incidents which have caused he and his friends, coworkers and loved one much embarrassment and hurt. Yet we know how it ends: Osher is still a popular personality on Australian television (and sometimes radio). He continues to fight his mental state every day.

The autobiography is well written and openly honest. He doesn’t shy away from the gory details (although I was disappointed to find he left out the decision and process of cutting off his butt-length hair). The Kindle version has some minor errors, such as not leaving spaces between words (I don’t know if the print version contains the same errors). Osher (or his ghostwriter?) writes conversationally, making for an easy read. The pacing is perfect, and his life is interesting enough without the reader feeling like a voyeur to a celebrity’s car crash life.

I think this footnote from Osher’s book sums it up nicely:

I give the book 9 out of 10 bookmarks.