Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny: My Autobiography

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I said to them, oh, I don’t know if I could fill a whole book with just that. But how’s about I write a general autobiography type of thing, and all the mental health stuff will naturally appear along the way? I could talk about growing up and slashing my wrist and taking acid all the time and getting done for car theft and feeling like a mad freak that would never amount to anything. It comes after Limmy – real name Brian Limond – tweeted about Sunday night’s episode of Doctor Who. This isn't a self help book, nor does Limmy proclaim to be a kind of guru of mental wellness - He just explains it, warts and all and fully admits he doesn't understand it, it's just part of him. It's about being strange in a normal, subclinical* way: intrusive thoughts, groundless anxiety, reduced affect display, auditory hallucination, mild paranoia, misanthropy, hysteroid dysphoria.

Limond has struggled with mental health issues such as depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as a history of alcoholism. He often openly discusses these issues on social media and in interviews. He has been teetotal since 2004. He has been in a relationship with Lynn McGowan since 2000. They have a son named Daniel McGowan Limond, born in 2010. But I couldn’t enjoy all the teenage/college age years. It was just not what I wanted to read about. Not Limmy’s fault of course, but I view myself as someone who can appreciate crass humour or explicit sex stories - and the stuff in this book was just way too bleugh for me. That’s all I can describe it as. I just didn’t want to read about him masturbating or his sexual encounters. It grossed me out and honestly made me want to DNF, which takes a lot, but it just wasn’t enjoyable or funny or even cringy. It was just bleugh.That said, I don't wish to make this sound like this is a particularly heavy book to read in that sense - And that's the beauty of it. All this is told and explained with Limmy's humour and self depricating wit included with in other daft anecdotes. Harriett recommends a noir novel in the same vein as Chandler - The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes who did not receive the same acclaim even though she was writing at the same time and also had books optioned and made into Hollywood movies.

He is a member of famous Comedian with the age 49 years old group. Limmy Height, Weight & MeasurementsThis is a refreshing read/listen in that way - Almost every other book with mental health as a cornerstone would try and offer some kind of help or explanation (nothing wrong with that at all, mind you) but in this Limmy just exposes it for the strange and maddening experience it can be and how it has defined certain moments or periods in his life. I know this review has been more about me than Limmy but one more thing; there's a chapter called Eccy where he heard his friends laughing horribly at him, not as feint paranoid thoughts but 100% absolutely real and right there beside him. Because his friends weren't in the house, he knew it wasn't real soon enough. Well the blood drained from my face listening to this because the exact same thing happened to me twenty-something years ago and it was a major trigger in my breakdown and took many years to realize those voices weren't real and no one said that horrible stuff. I'm grand now! but it took a lot more than twenty minutes to recover from that one I can tell you. I've always liked Limmy's stuff, I found it quite surprising how relatable limmy actually is. I don't know what I expected to be honest but I didn't expect to actually have enjoyed this book as much as I did. After continuing his comedy work for several years, Limmy was commissioned by BBC Scotland to create his own sketch show, Limmy's Show. The show ran for three series and a Christmas special between 2010 and 2013 and won two BAFTA Scotland awards. Limmy has also engaged in various other pursuits, such as writing several books and performing explicit live shows. The book that Lloyd Cole, from out of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, famously described on Radio 4 as showing "intelligence of some kind", this is as honest and as readable an autobiography as you are going to find. From a literary point of view, it is not great, it is not particularly elaborately written, or even funny, but it is not meant to be, it is meant to be Limmy talking honestly about his life. And five stars for that.