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I Am Ozzy

Ozzy Osbourne

391 pages

A hilariously profane and unbelievably chaotic pub yarn spun by rock's most bewildered survivor.

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What it feels like

Reading this memoir feels less like reading a book and more like being cornered in a dimly lit pub by the world's most entertaining, indestructible madman. The narrative moves at a propulsive, breakneck speed, mirroring the chaotic, drug-fueled whirlwind of the author's life. It is unapologetically profane, deeply self-deprecating, and surprisingly endearing, balancing pitch-black humor with moments of genuine vulnerability. The prose is entirely unfiltered, capturing a distinct, working-class voice that marvels at its own survival. You will find yourself laughing out loud at the sheer absurdity of the anecdotes, even as the story plunges into the grim realities of severe addiction. It is a perfect, rowdy delight for anyone who loves warts-and-all rock history and stories of spectacular, against-all-odds survival.

Mood
  • rowdy
  • absurd
  • darkly comic
  • nostalgic
Tone
  • profane
  • self-deprecating
  • candid
  • hilarious
  • chaotic
Pace
propulsive
Themes
addiction and survival · the absurdity of fame · working-class roots · self-destruction
The writing
Unfiltered, highly conversational, and heavily peppered with profanity, reading exactly like a late-night pub confession.
The arc
A chaotic plunge into the darkest depths of rock-and-roll excess that miraculously surfaces into bewildered, grateful survival.
Who it's for
Readers who crave wildly entertaining, warts-and-all celebrity memoirs filled with dark humor and unbelievable anecdotes.
Content notes
  • severe substance abuse
  • addiction
  • animal death
  • domestic violence
  • profanity
  • suicidal ideation

About the book

"They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies...' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the fking things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night. It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty fking years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at fking two miles per hour. People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of sixty, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn't have put money on me, no fking way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time. A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."

Description from Open Library.

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