Kammy: My Unbelievable Life by Chris Kamara (Pan Macmillan)
I've written before about how I often read for various projects which introduce me to books I'd never normally reach for, and sometimes this is great and sometimes not so good.
This time I was asked to read Kammy and I had no idea who he is - or was as I didn't even know if he was still alive!
It turns out he was a reasonably famous footballer turned presenter/pundit and while I wasn't expecting to find anything to enjoy in this book I found myself racing through it because it was so engaging!
Kammy has told his story to a very good ghost writer/co author and a fascinating book is the result. Kudos to Kammy for acknowledging Colin Young so openly too.
It mixes autobiographical chapters (in mostly chronological order) with chapters about more recent times and the result for a non football fan was that the book never got too bogged down in details about football matches as you knew there'd be a focus switch in a few pages.
The 'modern' part of the story is about Kammy's struggles with mental and physical health and he does this in such an open and engaging way that I think this book can do a lot to break down stigmas around both.
I'm still not a football fan but as happened back in 2021 (when I challenged myself to read all of the World Book Night titles) I I really enjoyed a book about the sport - I must remember to not dismiss books by footballers!
