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Absolutely Foxed
'Wonderfully entertaining' Mail on Sunday‘Profoundly important' GuardianGraeme Fowler - former England cricketer, happy-go-lucky joker and inspirational coach - was 47 when depression struck. Suddenly one of the most active men you'd ever meet couldn't even get up off the sofa to make a cup of tea. In Absolutely Foxed , a cricket memoir like no other, Fowler takes the reader on a vivid ride, with riotous stories of life on England tours, partying with Ian Botham and Elton John, combined with a moving account of his battle with mental-health issues.A hugely influential coach, and one of the most original thinkers about the game, Fowler looks back over his 40 years in the professional game, including his 16 years on the county circuit with Lancashire and Durham, and his three years as an England international - a period that was cut short by a life-threatening injury. He followed that with a spell working on Test Match Special , before running the Durham Centre of Excellence for 18 years.In his Foreword, lifelong friend Sir Ian Botham describes Fowler as 'one of the gutsiest I ever encountered', but also points out how he 'made a dressing room tick'. Those elements of courage, knowledge and humour are all present in Absolutely Foxed - a truly unmissable read.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2016
15 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 15, 2017
interesting book looking at his career but also his battles with his own mental health through periods of depression. the book itself is easy going to follow and that mental health can effect anyone no matter what you do or your social status.
July 21, 2016
Absolutely Foxed – Simply Stunning
Like many Lancashire Country Cricket Club fans Graeme Fowler is a player we all remember well, a great player, for Lancashire, Durham and for a short time England. So this autobiography automatically was a draw to me, even though I tend to avoid sports autobiographies as they tend to be poor. This one breaks the mould we really do see both the highs and the very lows of Graeme Fowler’s life, and something that he hid, his depression and his fight with it.
There are also stories in here that will make you smile and laugh out loud, and some I sort of remember from the, and I use the term loosely, newspapers of the time. In 1984, when Fowler was part of the Ashes touring party, I was all set to take my ‘O’ levels, and I remember the pictures of Elton John at the cricket. How Fowler found himself at a lavish party thrown by Elton John and later sat between him and his then wife Renate, whom he bit on the arm. Only the intervention of Ian Botham stopped this descending in to something worse when he manhandled back to the team hotel.
Fowler does something that many would not, he talks about his depression from the first chapter, and for those who have had mental health problems will tell you this is the best way. He is searingly honest about his depression and to the places that it took him, many will recognise the inability of being able to raise yourself off the sofa when the black mist befalls you. You see how hard it is to tell people about your problems and then the really hit and miss of medication, how you really have to wait and see if the medication is actually working.
There is also plenty about his sporting past, which during the 1980s meant the all-powerful West Indies team, when their pace attack could put you in the hospital, or back in the pavilion if you were lucky. With his wonderful gallows humour, Foxy recalls the chaos of the England set up of the time, not that much seems to have changed on that score.
Fowler’s fantastic career was cut short while he was at the top, after it was discovered that he had been playing throughout his career with a broken neck, from a car accident in his early career. But rather than taking this knock badly he set up the Centre of Excellent at Durham University, and has been an influence on many people in the sport.
What this book does show that depression can happen to anyone without fear or favour, it just happens and somehow you have to deal with it, the best you can, in a way that suits you best. Fowler’s story is wonderfully interesting and eye opening, and is a must read for any cricket fan. For those who have suffered depression will recognise parts of themselves in this book, and it does encourage you.
A book that delivers more than the usual sporting autobiographies.
Like many Lancashire Country Cricket Club fans Graeme Fowler is a player we all remember well, a great player, for Lancashire, Durham and for a short time England. So this autobiography automatically was a draw to me, even though I tend to avoid sports autobiographies as they tend to be poor. This one breaks the mould we really do see both the highs and the very lows of Graeme Fowler’s life, and something that he hid, his depression and his fight with it.
There are also stories in here that will make you smile and laugh out loud, and some I sort of remember from the, and I use the term loosely, newspapers of the time. In 1984, when Fowler was part of the Ashes touring party, I was all set to take my ‘O’ levels, and I remember the pictures of Elton John at the cricket. How Fowler found himself at a lavish party thrown by Elton John and later sat between him and his then wife Renate, whom he bit on the arm. Only the intervention of Ian Botham stopped this descending in to something worse when he manhandled back to the team hotel.
Fowler does something that many would not, he talks about his depression from the first chapter, and for those who have had mental health problems will tell you this is the best way. He is searingly honest about his depression and to the places that it took him, many will recognise the inability of being able to raise yourself off the sofa when the black mist befalls you. You see how hard it is to tell people about your problems and then the really hit and miss of medication, how you really have to wait and see if the medication is actually working.
There is also plenty about his sporting past, which during the 1980s meant the all-powerful West Indies team, when their pace attack could put you in the hospital, or back in the pavilion if you were lucky. With his wonderful gallows humour, Foxy recalls the chaos of the England set up of the time, not that much seems to have changed on that score.
Fowler’s fantastic career was cut short while he was at the top, after it was discovered that he had been playing throughout his career with a broken neck, from a car accident in his early career. But rather than taking this knock badly he set up the Centre of Excellent at Durham University, and has been an influence on many people in the sport.
What this book does show that depression can happen to anyone without fear or favour, it just happens and somehow you have to deal with it, the best you can, in a way that suits you best. Fowler’s story is wonderfully interesting and eye opening, and is a must read for any cricket fan. For those who have suffered depression will recognise parts of themselves in this book, and it does encourage you.
A book that delivers more than the usual sporting autobiographies.
May 28, 2021
Probably a 3.5, to be fair. Unlike many other cricket books which are almost unreadable due to their detailed stats of a career (I'm looking at you de Villiers), this was refreshingly free of all that. This is probably better because there's much more of a story here than just purely cricket.
Fowler is very honest about his struggles with mental health and this is a great help to other lovers of the game. There are some good stories about some of the high jinx around the game too.
However, he's not one to suffer fools gladly and comes across as a bit belligerent and grumpy. A fair bit of the later stages comes across as 'Here's why I'm right about this topic and everyone else is dumb'.
And if he ever saw this he wouldn't give a stuff. It's probably that strength that got him this far.
Fowler is very honest about his struggles with mental health and this is a great help to other lovers of the game. There are some good stories about some of the high jinx around the game too.
However, he's not one to suffer fools gladly and comes across as a bit belligerent and grumpy. A fair bit of the later stages comes across as 'Here's why I'm right about this topic and everyone else is dumb'.
And if he ever saw this he wouldn't give a stuff. It's probably that strength that got him this far.
August 12, 2017
An honest account of his life in cricket and his clinical depression. Moving stuff
May 16, 2017
A wonderful book written with honesty and humour. There is plenty to delight the cricket lover (me!) on and off the pitch. There is also much for anyone who has (or ever has had) issues with mental health. Graeme Fowler writes with honesty and humour. He thoroughly deserves all the praise he has received.
March 26, 2022
Much more than the standard sports autobiography … “I did this, then I did that.” This is a far more perceptive and insightful book, talking about experiences in and out of the dressing room, with great honesty about mental health issues as well. I always enjoyed watching him bat .. well, except when he was 100+ against my team … and now I find I enjoy reading his books as well.
July 5, 2017
4.5* very good read about mental health and sport. Hats off to Graeme Fowler for being a brilliant cricketer and bring the subject to the fore.
November 5, 2017
Honest, thoughtful and humorous.
An unsung legend of the game.
Now this, KP is a proper biography!
An unsung legend of the game.
Now this, KP is a proper biography!
August 22, 2019
Insightful
Really enjoyable book covering a variety of topics, most obviously cricket and mental health issues. Frankly written, funny and insightful.
Really enjoyable book covering a variety of topics, most obviously cricket and mental health issues. Frankly written, funny and insightful.
September 5, 2021
Very good.
Why depression and other MH issues happen to cricketers I don't know.
Personality wise, I see a lot of similar traits in myself.
Why depression and other MH issues happen to cricketers I don't know.
Personality wise, I see a lot of similar traits in myself.
October 5, 2016
An unusual sports autobiography from a charming man. Some real family moments, not any personal grudges at all I could pick up, genuine insight into his family life, not the usual fare by any means. Of course the media focuses on those aspects of his mental health difficulties that he raises, but there is far more within this book than that,
Brave in the true physical sense, with that very dry wit I adore, several laugh out moments and very interesting perspectives. An interesting man, one can understand why Elton John and Canadian gay musicians wanted to spend time in his company.
The interesting characters and occasions in his life get their own chapters (his century against the great West Indians, his double century in India, Bumble, Botham, they all get their own chapters). No dreary dialogues about unimportant games or pre season rubbish, just gives us the greatest hits.
His description of his first understanding he had an issue with his own mental health, when his wife told him he had not spoken to anyone in the house for 6 weeks, and his daughter said he had been reading the same Land Rover magazine in the shed for about the same length of time, and it had not really registered in his mind as "odd" was something that will stay with me. It is an illness, you are just not "right" upstairs, and the medical profession knows about as much about it as they did about physical illness when they bled you with knives to cure colds.
Love the man, loved the book.
Brave in the true physical sense, with that very dry wit I adore, several laugh out moments and very interesting perspectives. An interesting man, one can understand why Elton John and Canadian gay musicians wanted to spend time in his company.
The interesting characters and occasions in his life get their own chapters (his century against the great West Indians, his double century in India, Bumble, Botham, they all get their own chapters). No dreary dialogues about unimportant games or pre season rubbish, just gives us the greatest hits.
His description of his first understanding he had an issue with his own mental health, when his wife told him he had not spoken to anyone in the house for 6 weeks, and his daughter said he had been reading the same Land Rover magazine in the shed for about the same length of time, and it had not really registered in his mind as "odd" was something that will stay with me. It is an illness, you are just not "right" upstairs, and the medical profession knows about as much about it as they did about physical illness when they bled you with knives to cure colds.
Love the man, loved the book.
October 23, 2016
I was always a fan of Graeme Fowler, that is inevitable as a kid growing up in Manchester as a fan of Lancashire cricket. So I am biased from the start. The book covers four main themes, Graeme's struggles with his mental health, highlights of his cricket career, his approach to coaching through his running the Durham centre of excellence, and his views on how cricket should be run since that was closed. The first two elements are outstanding, the last two good and insightful, but necessary more analytical than the emotional and humorous punch that the other elements deliver. Too many sports autobiographies are out there with little to say and recall, but this is definitely one that would resonate beyond fans of the author due to the wider themes it covers.
August 3, 2016
A superb book. Honest and direct, of huge interest to cricket fans, but also a fascinating and honest insight into mental health, and the book would be of interest to non-cricket fans too. Highly recommend.
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December 13, 2017One of the best sports books, not only dealing with cricket but his demons.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews