Last rites

The late heavy metal legend considers his mortality in this posthumous memoir. "I ain't ready to go anywhere," writes Osbourne in the opening pages of his new memoir. "It's good being alive. I like it. I want to be here with my family." Given the context--Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, two weeks after the publisher announced the news of this book--it's undeniably sad. But the rest of the text sees the Black Sabbath singer confronting the health struggles of his last years with dark humor and something approaching grace. The memoir begins in 2018; he wrote an earlier one,I Am Ozzy, in 2010. He tells of a staph infection he suffered that proved to be the start of a long, painful battle with various illnesses--soon after, he contracted a flu, which morphed into pneumonia. A spinal injury caused by a fall followed, causing him to undergo a series of surgeries and leaving him struggling with intense pain. And then there was his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, the treatment of which was complicated by his longtime struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Osbourne peppers the chronicle of his final years with anecdotes from his past, growing up in Birmingham, England, and playing with--and then being fired from--Black Sabbath, and some of his most well-known antics (yes, he does address biting the heads off of a dove and a bat). He writes candidly and regretfully about the time he viciously attacked his wife, Sharon--the book is in many ways a love letter to her and his children. The memoir showcases Osbourne's wit and charm; it's rambling and disorganized, but so was he. It functions as both a farewell and a confession, and fans will likely find much to admire in this account. "Death's been knocking at my door for the last six years, louder and louder," he writes. "And at some point, I'm gonna have to let him in." A charming and often poignant valediction from rock 'n' roll's Prince of Darkness. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.