Steve-O Professional Idiot: A Memoir

   Drug addiction, alcohol abuse, and the need for fame so intense you would do anything to keep in the spotlight. In Steve-O Professional Idiot: a Memoir, Stephen Gilchrist Glover (Steve-O) craved the fame he got after starring in the movie/TV franchise (pardon the name) Jackass, but that did not start his problems with alcohol and drugs. It shocked me to see how far he had gone and to see the real Steve-O and believe-you-me he told the exact truth. Even though Steve-O is easily perceived as a celebrity stunt man who was an addict his book showed a deeper truth to him which shows me three things that can be said through this book that we all relate to him, the effect of the big event, and how the decision he made not only affected him but the story as well.
    In reading Steve-O Professional Idiot: a Memoir the first question I wanted an answer to was how can I relate to him? I found the answer easily. The addiction and commitment he had for everything and anything he really wanted. In the first few chapters you see how he committed to anything he was interested in at the time. When he was eleven, he was wandering in a store when he saw an Iron Maiden album he was drawn to it and ran around the lyrics he then committed to being a “metal head”. Later he committed to skateboarding. Then after losing his skateboarding friends, he committed to being a stoner and he went hardcore with it. In a way, everyone addicts or commits to something, but tends to be more unnoticeable like work or looks or perfection or losing weight or fitting in. In the way he went hardcore with drugs others go hardcore on other just as harmful in a way things.
     The big event when reading the book would seem to be his friends putting on an intervention after Steve-O sent out a message saying he was ready to die and threatening to splatter himself all over the pavement. He followed along and even fell under a 52/50 code, which gives a psycho ward the legal right to hold someone against there will for a certain period, the time in this case was two weeks. Afterwards he was checked into rehab. He was honestly good in a sense that he committed to rehab, but as he says, it was for all the wrong reasons. The fame he got from doing this was why he did it. He was as addicted to fame as much as the numerous drugs he did. However, it was his next decision that had the biggest affect on him.
     One-hundred days sober and in a sober living house (which is where you get more freedom and just have a curfew) is when he says he hit his all time low. He was full of self-pity and felt like a loser for it. He may have been far into sobriety but doing it for the wrong reasons had caught up to him. He did nothing but lie around and eat and had been able to say he got fat. He was hopeless. He had suicidal thoughts and worse depression. So he checked back into the beginning of a rehab. Had he not when he got out he would have either done something irrational or started up again. The decision to get sober for the right reasons put him on track and happy. In fact becoming sober even helped his fame. He got even funnier says many of his friends and he even has a stand comedy tour along with his book tour.
    Even though Steve-O is easily perceived as a celebrity stunt man who was an addict his book showed a deeper truth to him which shows me three things that can be said through this book that we all relate to him, the effect of the big event, and how the decision he made not only affected him but the story as well. The effect his decision made not only saved him from himself but also made even better than he was before. Though he admits, some days are still harder than others he is going strong. This book really inspired me. You need to follow your dreams because he did that everyday until he got it. In addition, when you are knocked down just get back up and do better.