Being
Gazza: My Journey to Hell and Back, by Paul Gascoigne (2006)
Have you read this book? Share your views on the new forum here
THIS is a rather odd book, on the whole - part autobiography, part self-help book, though whether it eventually helps the reader more than the author is an interesting question.
Ghosted by acclaimed writer Hunter Davies, the book is made up of transcripts of Gazza's sessions with his therapist, John McKeown - first in the rather stream-of-consciousness voice of Gazza himself and then in more formal analyses by McKeown, and every chapter ends with a short note written to Gazza from his fellow residents in the US rehab centre Cottonwood (along the lines of "Hey, man, you were amazing, you really made me laugh", etc).
At the end is a large section of appendices offering readers all manner of advice about where to get help if they suffer from any of the many afflictions Gazza details in the book. It may leave the reader a little cold if they do not have any of the problems discussed, but it is of interest nevertheless and adds to the book's curiosity value.
Indeed, Gazza's problems read a little like an A-Z of psychiatry: alcoholism, anxiety, bipolar disorder, bulimia, drug abuse, gambling addiction, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), twitches - you name it, this guy's been blighted by it at some stage. Although he frequently calls himself "us", that is just his Geordie dialect coming through - schizophrenia is just about the only problem he hasn't got.
But his story is searingly honest, and very readable, if a little wearing at times. It is hard not to feel pity for Gazza - and it could be argued that all this therapy does him more harm than good. He seems very aware of all his afflictions, wearing them very much on his sleeve. It sounds harsh, but he often appears like a "professional victim" who uses his problems like a crutch. He clearly believes that writing a book will help him deal with his issues; but one could say that all this does is make him dwell on them too much, thus trapping him even more.
Whatever you believe, this book does offer a fascinating insight into the mind of a troubled man - a famous, troubled man whose life has not been made any easier by the relentless press intrusion.
The book is funny and it is sad, and you get the impression that the story is far from over. But, at the end of it all, Gazza does enough to endear himself that the reader hopes that the story has a happy ending, and does not culminate in a tragedy of George Best proportions.
Review by Sam Hawcroft
- Also recommended: Gazza: My Story, by Paul Gascoigne (2004) and Gazza Agonistes, by Ian Hamilton (1998)