At the age of sixty-nine, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world. Then disaster. In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalised with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour – and all public life – as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down. Last Rites is the shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Osbourne’s descent into hell. Along the way, he reflects on his extraordinary life and career – including his turbulent marriage to wife Sharon, his regrets over Black Sabbath’s reunion, encounters with fellow hellraisers including Slash, Bon Scott, John Bonham and Keith Moon and the harrowing final moments he spent with Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister.

I need to admit here that I wanted to read this book for a while now, because I have been a big fan of Ozzy Osbourne and black Sabbath ever since I can remember. And now that I have read this book I gotta admit that this book has is far better than I have expected it to be. 

Reading this book have made me realize how much Ozzy loved music and performing throughout his long career which made me love him so much better because this book makes it very clear that he lived and breathed music and being able to perform for his fans.

This book also shows how Ozzy complicated as a person was. Because this book talks about Ozzy’s life as an addict, as a he heavy metal icon, as a father, as a grandfather, as a husband and him struggling with his health in the 5 years or so before his dead. At the same time this book talks about how he made many friends in the music industry and the experience he had being THE Ozzy Osbourne. Which made me love him so much more because Ozzy takes us on a personal journey in a way in this book and we got to know more about him beyond just listening to his music or seeing him on stage. 

This book is Ozzy taking us on a journey where is Ozzy being honest, humorous, reflective, and unapologetically himself. Which in a way feels like we are actually having a talk with him rather than reading his book. Because this book talks a lot about things fans didn’t see throughout his career and what he and his family has been dealing with behind-the scenes.

This book also talks about Ozzy’s day to day life which gives us as fans a better look on how his life was like where we as fans couldn’t see. Which made me find him more relatable by reading about his day to day life and not only see him as the God of heavy metal. 

The writing in this book is very good, because it was very Ozzy-Osbourne-ish which made me personally feel like I was taking a look inside of Ozzy’s head and see all the bad shit he went through in his life. The writing in this book was very easy going and simple and at times it felt more like listening to Ozzy talk about his life in person rather than reading a book. Which of course made me give this book extra points for doing.

No matter how good this book is, it also made me very very sad and depressed. Because in a way this book is the last goodbye we got from Ozzy before his death in July 2025. 

I Give This Book 5 / 5