Customer Reviews

Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I didn't really know much Sharon or her family before they came into the limelight, the ultimate dysfunctional family. This book chronicles her life, from her own troublesome family (she consistently refers to her dad throughout as "Don Arden" - never Dad), and how her brother & mother shunned her. She was the little fat girl (a tugboat as she calls herself), who you didn't want to sit next to on the plane. She recalls meeting Ozzy, having children (and some miscarriages, even one that her mother indirectly caused) and plastic surgery.

I looked for some sign of having a ghost writer work with her on this book, but what exactly do you look for? There was nothing in the copyright section that's at the front of every book, no indication. It was also very personal, very crude, which is exactly Sharon. It also alternates between the past & present, with an almost diary entry of the present day at the end of each chapter. It's very interestingly written, but what was missing, I thought, was Kelly & Jack's troubles. Aimee is mentioned (she had a lump removed from her breast), but neither Jack or Kelly get mentioned much, despite both of them having troubles with drink & drugs. (Although I did notice in my local book shop today that Jack has his own biography out - but not sure whether's it's official or not.)

Sharon's book is very crude, so I will warn you now, she talks about every part of herself - in detail. It's not pretty. It's an amazing book & definitely a keeper.

While I realize it may not be a universal sentiment, I love Sharon Osbourne. I have since she first appeared on reality TV (MTV), reigning over home, children, pets, and her aging, somewhat-befuddled, rock star husband, Ozzy. She is a role model of a strong, smart, outspoken, funny, unconventional, feisty redhead -- all that, with a great haircut and a snappy English accent, too.

The audio version of EXTREME is entertaining, compelling and controversial; fascinating, at the same time, disturbing. This is a woman who has really come into her own, beyond the success and privilege of her husband's fame. She is a woman deserving of good fortune and peace in her life, after suffering and surviving years of abuse by her father and her husband. However, she is no angel, maybe not even a completely sympathetic victim: This is a woman, when she gets angry, who tends to seek revenge and lash out. She cheerfully admits to urinating in someone's drink on more than one occasion, and expressing her dissatisfaction, on numerous occasions, with human excrement.

She is unapologetic, but forgiving, of herself and those around her, including her father and her husband. Her story is fascinating, from her hard scrabble childhood in England, through the ups and downs (always to the extreme) as the daughter of a very controlling, powerful man in the music industry and later as the wife of an abusive, self-destructive rock legend. This is the story behind the stories played out on reality TV and in the tabloids.

The truth according to Sharon Osbourne.
I still love her -- I certainly would never want to piss her off!!

-- Sherri Caldwell, Humor Columnist & Reviewer at [...]
Co-Author, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!

I really enjoyed this book. Sharon has a fascinating life with both the sweets and sours of success. While some people might not be as open about their misfortunes, Sharon doesn't sugar coat anything. She tells it all. The book was well written and very personal. The reality show just doesn't paint a real picture of who Sharon is as a person, nor does it really do justice to what she went through with cancer.

I've read Ordinary People (excellent as well), and the stories of Ozzy's drug induced behavior never cease to amaze me. I'm glad to have read this book because it shows that people are people no matter how much fame and fortune they have. It's easy to forget that when you see them on television.

I used to watch The Osbournes when they had their reality show on MTV. I didn't particularly like or dislike Sharon then, although the show was interesting. Also, there were some things she did that made me go really?, that's the kind of example she wants to set for her kids? (Throwing food into her neighbor's yard, etc.)
If I was on the fence before I am definitely on the can't stand her side of it now after reading her memoir. Yuck, she comes off as such a gross, crude, self-important person and it is a huge turn off. Getting involved with Ozzy while he was still married, and talking about his then wife as if she were just some insignificant gnat that didn't matter. Afterall, Ozzy only really loved Sharon right? I guess even when he was cheating on her and constantly doing drugs and drinking, oh and hitting her too. Come on, Sharon sounds like every other battered woman out there that makes excuses for their men's bad behavior,-"but I know he really loves me", blah, blah, blah. What kind of message is this sending to women reading the book let alone her own daughters!?
And although Sharon tries to come off like she's all about family, it seems to me she's all about $. I can buy this, I can buy that, I'm driving in my Bentley, my housekeeper so and so. Nauseating. People know who you are, we know you're wealthy, why does insignificant drivel about $ have to be included in one's memoir? Tacky. Well, I guess her stories about defecating on letters to people she was mad at proves $ most certainly does not make a classy person. As soon as I finished reading this I deleted it off my Kindle, it just felt too dirty having her gross book on there.

Sharon Osbourne's autobiography is not for the faint of heart. She's been to hell and back in her life. Her audio book is exceptionally well read with fantastic inflection, enormous wit, great humor and the three swear words that Brits always string together like an introduction.

If you think Sharon Osbourne is just Ozzy Osbourne's wife, you're wrong, she's an interesting, accomplished person in her own right. She grew up as the daughter of Don Arden, who did variety, or as it's called in the States, vaudeville.

Her father turned to band promotion in the 1970s. When Sharon was of age she started rock group management, beginning with ELO. After Arden signed Ozzy, Sharon was sent on tour with him. Ozzy was married with three children and almost ten years her senior. Their romance blossomed and Sharon was taken off the Ozzy account per Ozzy and his then wife, Thelma's, request. Months later, Ozzy called Sharon and told her that his marriage was over and asked her to come back on tour with him.

She's been the brain behind Ozzy's career, OzFest, Lita Ford's career and the shining star on the British "The X Factor" television show. As she states, she's been polar extremes, raised by a Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother, yoyo-dieting sometimes weighing 160 stone, now weighing 70 stone, a woman in a man's business, because as she said, "The music business is a big boy's club filled with coke and sex."

After years of hard work, the Osbourne's were invited to the White House and
subsequently thereafter Ozzy played at the Queen's Golden Jubilee at Buckingham Palace. Sharon was surprised, because she said that everyone always said about her and Ozzy, "She's from that gangster father and he's in that heavy metal band." But Sharon Osbourne shows how one can overcome obesity, cancer, abuse, victimization and other issues while raising three children.

This autobiography is a must read as an interesting, dynamic, funny, crass, albeit sometimes tragically sad, story.

Armchair Interviews says: The audio book is enjoyable, punctuated with satire, wit and honesty.

I must confess right off that I've been a diehard Sharon Osbourne from the beginning of her groundbreaking reality series "The Osbournes," as well as from her appearances on the Howard Stern Show. Sharon's one of a kind -- an eccentric mom, rabid shopper, hardworking producer/manager/talk show hostess. This autobiography is a revelation, even for longtime fans. Sharon goes back to her childhood as the daughter of a seriously crazed rock'n'roll empire-builder, where one day she was riding in a Rolls and the next day she was dodging the bill collectors and, sometimes, the police. She details her travels and travails with Ozzie, yes, but this is Sharon's story. She is relentlessly honest in the telling of her story. It's funny, it's shocking, it's sad, it's moving -- everything you'd want a story to be. I couldn't put it down, and I was sorry when the book was over. Thankfully, Sharon's journey is far from over, and I hope that one day, a decade or so into the future, she'll write the continuation of her tale. If it's anything like this book, it'll be well worth the wait.

I read this book in 3 days, so it was definately a page turner. I almost wanted to slap Sharon for "knowing that Ozzy was a FULL BLOWN Addict" and yet staying with him. She does open her heart, shows vulnerablity , as well as deep insecrity.I loved the details about the music biz, very informative. In the end, Sharon, her children & even crazy Ozzie, truimph over all thier obstacles, adversities & additctions. However, it's an ongoing procsee, so I hope Sharon will write a follow-up in about 10 years.

She has lived three lives already........Before "The Osbournes" was a reality t.v. show, I was only familiar with Ozzy. This book is an amazing look into the life of an incredibly strong woman, wife, mother, and business manager. Everything in her life is done to the nth degree. She's loves fiercely and lives fully. What a great story of survival and success through hard work and gumption. I really have to say that I admire her tenacity, drive, and fierce wit.

In this book Sharon is nothing if not honest.
I simply couldn't put this book down! It's heartbreaking, funny, loving and above all a damn good read!

The more I read of this book, the worse it got. Not the writing but the events. I became really sick of the whole Shazz & Ozzy dysfunction by the time it ended. I felt it was just another book about celebrity drama, excess, & bad behavior.

I really do think Sharon suffered from "battered woman syndrome" and typically she could not see it. Her life was filled with chaos and violence - did she ever get help?
One chapter dealt with one incident where she was badly beaten by Ozzy, yet the next paragraph went right into her nanny problems. Did I miss something? There even is a scary picture in the book of Ozzy with a caption saying he is the least scary person she knows, yet the entire book describes his beatings, hitting her, & strangling her. Hello?

She criticized her mother for allowing her father to treat her very badly, yet Sharon did the same thing in her own marriage. She critized her father for having an affair, yet she herself had an affair with Oz while he was married. And Ozzy had affairs! Plus, her own behavior was almost as out of control as her fathers although I do not believe that Sharon cheated people as Don did.

Had Sharon been completely honest she would have seen through her delusions about herself. Maybe then, this book would have been more helpful to others.

I feel the worst for her kids. No matter what anyone says, no one escapes that kind of domestic violence unscathed; especially when both parents are nuts. Yes, she engaged in some violent and disgusting acts herself (getting Jack to crap on a contract to send back to her father), it must have been a madhouse for those kids.