Trisha: As I am

by Trisha Goddard

Trisha Goddard is the nation's number-one talk show host. Every day, millions of viewers tune in to her television programme to watch ordinary people share their problems, worries and experiences; she is the nation's favourite confidante. But behind the assured, poised professional is a woman with a remarkable and intriguing past. After years of listening to other people's life stories, Trisha is now ready to tell hers...As a child, Trisha was on the receiving end of violence from her father, a psychiatric nurse; her teens were scarred by depression and eating disorders. Her real adventures in life began when she left home at 15 to tour in a band. Having tasted freedom, Trisha then became a stewardess for Gulf Air - a job she claims prepared her well for the crowd control she would need to exercise on her television show. Having settled in Australia, she launched her television career and her success as a broadcaster was cemented when she became the first black news anchorwoman on Australian television.In this intimate, no-holds-barred autobiography, Trisha lays bare the details of her fascinating life. She speaks candidly about her suicide attempts, nervous breakdown and two-year recovery in a psychiatric unit. She tells all about her past relationships, including a string of violent relationships, a brief marriage to an Australian politician who she later discovered had died of an AIDS-related illness and a marriage that ended in infidelity. She also describes her devastation when her youngest sister, who had suffered from schizophrenia, tragically committed suicide.Never one to let life's problems drag her down, Trisha reached a turning point when she met and fell in love with her future husband Peter. Soon after their marriage, her life was to be turned upside down once more when she was headhunted from the UK to front her own daytime talk show. Trisha instantly won the affection of her viewers and her show was a roaring success

Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a moment, late in the book, where Goddard says to her readers that there's no reason to explain the format of her UK tv show, because if you've picked up this book you'll know all about it. She really is writing for a British audience, and her comment merely confirms what I'd sensed earlier on.

But I picked up this book because I remembered Goddard from Play School and from Everybody. It was listed under 'Australian authors' on the Bolinda Borrow Box ebook app, and I'm counting it as such for AWW, because it's an extra, not one of the listed books. (I really must get on with reading those listed books, actually). I know Goddard grew up in the UK, and moved back to the UK, but she lived and worked in Australia for 15 to 20 years, and those were years when I watched her on Australian television, and although that's not a great reason for counting her as Australian, it's good enough for me right now.

I chose this book on a whim, but I'm really glad that I read it. It was difficult to read: because of what Goddard went through, because of the way she was treated by others, because of the difficulty of reading something so open and honest, especially where mental health is concerned. But not surprisingly, the things that make the book difficult to read are also the things that are most important about the story. The racism she experienced in Australia (have we really moved on at all since?) the stress she suffered and her ways of dealing (and not dealing) with it, and the consequences of that; it really is a narrative written for her UK audience, but even without that context, I valued the book and learned a lot from it.

It's the subject matter rather than the writing style that makes this difficult to read. The style itself tends towards the breezy, and there often seems to be a surface shallowness. But I think the breeziness belies a great deal of hurt for Goddard, and that skimming over the surface is the only way that the story was going to be told.

[Kerry Bonham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into Trisha's life. She shares the highs and lows of her life with a combination of humour, sorrow, focus, and hope. Most of all, Trisha shows forgiveness, and an urge to help others.

[Rita Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trisha Goddard has written a 'warts and all' memoir which is both easy to read and engaging. Although we don't have her TV show in Australia I did remember her from her time here and was interested to see what else she had been up to. I wasn't disappointed.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I couldn't put down, fascinating reading, honestly narrated, showing resilience and strength of character.

[Rowlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cracking good read. Gives real insight into the life of this woman and how she has overcome much adversity in her life.