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| Back from the Brink: The Autobiography | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Mcgrath
Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £2.50
You Save: £5.49 (69%)
New (21) from £3.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 3269
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 009949955X
EAN: 9780099499558
ASIN: 009949955X
Publication Date: May 24, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Lessons in Child Neglect and Alcoholism October 18, 2008
This book is a very dark lesson in the devastation that childhood neglect can bring, leading to profound depression and onwards to the depths of alcoholism and serial suicide attempts.
Paul has been unreservedly honest and deserves the highest praise for having the courage to tell his story. He has seen the 'brink' many times and survived to tell the tale. That tale emphatically highlights the futility of seeking refuge in alcohol.
Unfortunately the negative experiences are over-emphasised and make this a very hard read. For instance, Paul has made a real difference when making charity appearances, but that is hardly mentioned. There could at least have been a bit more focus on his football successes.
Paul, good luck for the future.
 Back from the brink? Maybe .... August 26, 2008
I read this book some time ago and found it fascinating and deeply saddening. Paul NcGrath is a deep and tragic character - so gifted and so damaged by his childhood experiences and the alcoholism it helped to create. The honesty of the book is frightening - there are no holds barred here.
As I completed the book I couldn't help but reflect that Paul McGrath is still living through the pain of his early years and the pain of the alcoholism. Maybe he isn't yet back from the brink.
I do hope he survives and thrives.
A totally honest account of a very sad life. June 2, 2008
This is a totally honest account of the life of Paul McGrath. The book will bring the reader to tears on many occassions. You don't need to be a football fan to be moved by this book. A great read.
Sad, fascinating, honest. No major interest in Football required. March 30, 2008
Paul McGrath certainly doesn't epitomise normality. A black person growing up in 1960's Dublin. An orphan, abandoned by his Mother. A world class athlete. A Catholic then a Protestant then a Catholic again. A national hero. A categorical and unequivocal alcoholic. Doesn't sound normal, does it? This book is the very candid story about these unique characteristics weaving together to create a very unique life. Paul McGrath's life.
I was a passionate soccer fan in my youth. Like many other young Dublin lads, it was play soccer, watch soccer, live soccer. Now I have just grown out of it all. Too many egos, too much money, not enough passion. It's just not the same as old days. So, I approached this book, expecting reminiscences of the good old Soccer before Mr. Murdock ruined it all!
But this book is much much more than Soccer. In fact, you would not even have to know what offside is to enjoy it. It's a most lucid, honest, genuine revelation into the very deep and dark side of McGrath's life. His melachonic childhood is told in such apprehensible detail, it would send a shiver down your spine and bring a tear to your eye at the same time. His adulthood is a deleterious lifestyle riddled with mistakes, regret and shame. It's plagued with endless drunken stupors. At a superficial level, he's famous, a fantastic soccer player, but a book that navigates his mind shows that soccer at times seams no more than a temporary escapism from very serious addiction and personal problems.
There is a striking and unique dichotomy in McGrath's story. He had crippling pain due to cartilage problems in his knees. But while he was able to overcome this and play professional Football at the highest level, he cannot overcome his emotional problems and deal with his alcohol addition.
This provokes two very interesting points:
1. This genius is flawed. On the pitch he is a world class soccer player, but off it, he's a fallable human being who cannot cope with reality. Is this part of his appeal? Like Alex Ferguson said, perhaps he is like
George Best in this regard. A hero with flaws.
2. How can he have so much inner strength that he can overcome pain which would make most players hang up their boots, but not be able to come even close to dealing with pyschological problems that are ruining his life?
The writing style is clear, honest and with a few minor exceptions, the book follows a chronological order. Along the way there are snippets and opinions from the key people in Paul's life. His mother, his best mates,
former managers, and host of others each add their two pence worth. This range of opinions gives book a very objective characteristic and a credibility which can only really engage a reader.
Before reading this book, I had one very obvious question about Paul McGrath:
What kind of soccer player would he have been if his knees held up?
After reading this book, and a close up view of Paul's perspective, I had two far more pertinent questions:
Can his childhood but blamed for the problems in his adulthood?
What kind of man would he have been if he was not an addict?
 Not a typical autobiography, February 20, 2008
Let me start by saying that I'm a huge fan of Paul's and believe that he was a great footballer and is a gem of a person. However I have lost a lot of sympathy for Paul after this book. Most autobiographies make me like and understand the author more but this one just bewilders me. Believe me he had it rough in the early days as the book describes in detail but Paul has had so many breaks, so many chances and so much love that in the end you don't feel sorry for him but angry at him. I wish him all the best with his demons.
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