‘I Am Ozzy’ Is Wildly Awesome | Book Review

I don’t remember how I discovered Ozzy Osbourne because it certainly wasn’t through Black Sabbath. I just know that my vivid memory of Ozzy, sort of, was through a season two episode of Hannah Montana titled, “(We’re So Sorry) Uncle Earl,” where Jackson Stewart (played by Jason Earles) does an exaggerated impression of him. Now that I think about it, the creators were making fun of the way Ozzy talked and how the drugs made him confused all the time, which was messed up. Still, I thought the impression was hilarious, but unfortunately, that convinced me for years that he was no more than a clown. It wasn’t until my Disney College Program in 2022 when I finally got into the Ozzy era of Black Sabbath. Shortly after I returned from the Disney College Program in January 2023, Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour became my comfort show, and I became fascinated with Ozzy and how unapologetic he was!

I love this quote on the back. I kept hearing Ozzy’s voice every time I read it!

When he passed away in July 2025, I couldn’t believe it because in my eyes, he was one of those immortal figures that was supposed to live forever, as crazy as that sounds. Even now as I’m typing this, the world feels less joyful and humorous without him. I knew I wanted to read his Last Rites (2025) book, which was released posthumously, but also knew I had to read his I Am Ozzy (2009) book first to catch up on what I missed. You know, in case he references it in Last Rites. Thankfully, Barnes & Noble at Ala Moana Center brought in new copies of I Am Ozzy, due to Ozzy’s passing, so I purchased one, along with a copy of Last Rites, saving me an online trip to Amazon. I was so determined to finish I Am Ozzy, which was co-written by Chris Ayres, that I read the entire book in four days, which is quick for my standards!

I’ve read a good amount of autobiographies this past year and noticed that for certain autographies, I can hear the author’s voice while reading their book. This occurred for certain celebrities I was familiar with, including Ozzy. A prime example is when Ozzy was describing how guitarist Tony Iommi lost the tips of his middle and ring fingers on his right hand in a factory accident. He was horrified by the whole thing, but also grew to admire the guy for his determination to play guitar again. Swearing played a big part in this book, as well. In fact, my mom made the observation, while watching Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, that Ozzy swore a lot, but not in a mean way; it was just part of his personality!

Barney the Dinosaur used to say that you can learn about anything and visit anywhere just by reading a book. “You can have an adventure in a far-away land / You can learn about a tuba in a marching band / You can travel through the stars or the deep blue sea / When you learn to borrow books from the library.” I used to think that was crap (sorry Barney) because how can you visit a place when you’re not physically there? But after reading I Am Ozzy, I’ve made the conclusion that Barney was right and I was wrong! I witnessed all of Ozzy’s crazy antics and experiences through his book. I was there when he went to the Winson Green prison for “non-payment of fines,” when he and Iommi accidentally poisoned drummer Bill Ward by spraying his d*ck with blue spray paint, when he killed most of his pet chickens with his Benelli semi-automatic shotgun (while on a drunken rampage), and when he bit the head off a dove at a meeting with CBS Records to annoy the PR lady. 

I didn’t mind seeing all the booze, drugs, and groupies. The images that were most disturbing were the ones that involved animals either dying or getting their heads ripped off, etc. All the cow blood, pig hooves, dove sh*t, chicken guts, bat heads, whatever; I experienced it all and it was disgusting as hell! But those crazy antics are what made the book so interesting. No one was born a normal human being; some people are just less insane than others. However, Ozzy’s story was something else. It took him years to get sober or even want to get sober. In fact, one of the last times he got drunk (the last time mentioned in the book, at least) was in the 2000s, when he and guitarist Zakk Wylde were in Prague, Czech Republic at a Four Seasons hotel and decided to throw their 50-inch TV out the window because Ozzy never threw a TV out the window before.

I’ve read his bio on Wikipedia and heard the story about him biting the head off a bat, but it was nice to clear up the confusion I had regarding certain parts of his life. One example being when he married his first wife, Thelma Riley, at a young age. In Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, he kept saying his first marriage was a mistake, but I didn’t know why. While reading this book, I discovered their marriage was destroyed by Ozzy’s alcohol and drug use, his constant touring with Black Sabbath, and his relationship with Sharon, his eventual second wife. He even gave Thelma a black eye, which he regretted as soon as he got sober. I learned a big lesson while reading I Am Ozzy, which is never assume anything and always get the facts first. 

One of the saddest parts of this book was when guitarist Randy Rhoads died because he was a talented, young individual whose life was taken away from him unfairly. The tragic irony is that the last thing he said to Ozzy was, “You’ll kill yourself one of these days!”, referring to Ozzy’s alcohol addiction. The next day, Rhoads died in a plane crash. Besides the pilot, Andrew C. Aycock, being high as a kite on cocaine, the thing that irritated me most was that he promised makeup artist Rachel Youngblood, who also died in the plane crash, he wasn’t going to pull any stunts on the flight, due to Youngblood’s heart condition. That bastard obviously never kept his word, but I guess that’s what happens when drugs take over, people!

Ozzy has been called many nasty things and made a few enemies here and there because of his drug and alcohol addiction, however, I can’t really be mad at the guy because life is hard. It’s filled with twists and turns around every corner. It didn’t help that he was dyslexic, bullied in school, had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and was a very fearful kid. He made a lot of mistakes throughout his life, but once sober, he showed remorse for his cruel actions, including towards his loved ones. I truly believe Ozzy Osbourne was a good guy, which is why everyone loved and cared about him. I Am Ozzy gets a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Rest in peace, Prince of Darkness!

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Lana