Todd Marinovich was seemingly born to be a football player. Not only did he show great promise as a quarterback in his days playing youth football, his father was Marv Marinovich, a former NFL player and coach. While he achieved success in high school and college football (the latter at USC) and was a first round draft pick of the then-Los Angeles Raiders, there was a demon Todd was battling: addiction. This memoir is a very good account by Todd of his struggles battling the disease.

I used “disease” because that’s how Marinovich described it for both himself and his father, although that didn’t occur until near the end of the book. He said Marv’s addiction (what he always called his father, never “Dad” or something similar) was physical conditioning and coaching while his was drugs and alcohol. While his story is not unique, this was written with quite a different tone than other sports memoirs.

This is because Marinovich doesn’t focus on his childhood or his playing career. Due to his addiction, his time with the Raiders was brief, but did have some good games. After several attempts at recovery, he caught on in the Canadian Football League, but that didn’t pan out. He played one season in the Arena Football League and was named Rookie of the Year but like with all his other football teams (even at USC) he never could stay away from drugs..

Instead of football, Marinovich concentrated on telling the darker side of his struggles. He gives some very detailed and painful accounts of his arrests, failed rehabilitation sessions, and failed relationships including with his family. Even though he currently is living a decent life in Hawaii coaching youth football and crafting his artistic talent, he makes it clear that addiction is something he is still fighting every day. This is what makes this such a powerful book. It’s clear that he has many regrets and knows his issues but is trying every day to overcome them. Todd Marinovich must receive at least some praise for opening up like this to the world.

I wish to thank Ben Bella Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

For those of us that grew up in the 90's idolizing our sports heros, Marinovich is a must-read. We all remember the negative press and drama that surrounded him even in the pre-Internet age. I know where I was watching the ESPN special that came out some years ago.

Now, we get to hear a brutally honest account of his life from the only person that actually lived it. It's a short book, but, in the 175 pages, Todd gives insights that evoke compassion and understanding for someone who seemed to have it all but couldn't keep it together. The pain that he has felt and caused is tremendous but in his mid-50's he reckoning with all of it and I pray that he can keep his sobriety the sake of his kids and himself.

No one should consider themselves knowledgeable about Todd Marinovich without reading his biography.

Having little knowledge of Todd Marinovich but having heard some of his story I was surprised with the things he chose to include in his story. There was a great retelling of his career as a football quarterback but not much reflection as to why he did the things he did, it lacked deep insight. It is very admirable that he takes full responsibility for all his actions and he mentions this a couple of times in the book

Marinovich was an introspective and intense look into the life of former NFL Quarterback Todd Marinovich. He speaks on various points in his football career spanning from his first time getting cracked in youth football all the way through his NFL and CFL careers. This book also focuses on his often misunderstood relationship with his dad, along with the struggles with addiction throughout his life.

I really appreciated Todd’s openness and honesty throughout this book. It was refreshing to read a book about an athlete that wasn’t focused solely on their statistics and career accomplishments, but more on a deeper level focusing on what drove him to be great as well as his constant back and forth battle with addiction that ultimately contributed to his career not working out as he imagined.

This was such an interesting read to me. This book progressed quickly. The storytelling along with the candidness of the details is what really made this a captivating book that I struggled to put down.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, not just sports fans! Special thanks to NetGalley, BenBella Books, and Todd Marinovich for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest and fair opinion.

Wow - a heartbreaking portrait of what addiction can do to ruin your life and how an unstable self view can really impact your entire life. An intimate portrait of the downward spiral of one of the most infamous college football and first round NFL draft choices.

A really interesting book. Read it almost in one sitting. It is a story of addiction above all and told with a level of honesty that is very impactful.

I anticipated something very different in terms of how he would talk about his Dad but he isn't interested in recounting every little detail of his childhood training but rather telling an emotionally honest story.

A lot of the stories he recounts from his career are quite funny, only one really crosses into TMI.

excellent book

(I'll share on my site nearer the release date.