Best Foot Forward

Image credit: Hachette Australia

Like TV interviews or daydreams, there’s a wonderful intimacy in autobiographies that I absolutely adore. While the initial inspiration to read someone’s autobiography is to find out more about a person you admire (or at least find interesting enough to purchase their book), there is this warm, underlying intimacy in that this person’s word (although printed and distributed to the masses) have been written by them expressly for you. A good autobiography feels as though the writer is right there across the table from you, regaling you with their delightful stories and messages. This is the feeling I am currently relishing in, having just closed the cover of Adam Hills’ Best Foot Forward.

The book chronicles various poignant and inspirational moments throughout Hills’ career; a fascinating one that has morphed into everything from stand-up comic, radio DJ, TV show host, spokesperson, and celebrated cultural darling. Fans of Hillsy will recognise such uplifting and memorable stories such as when he met the Queen of England, the Dalai Lama, and the Muppets, not to mention a few new ones and some behind-the-scenes titbits that haven’t been dropped on stage or screen.

If you love Adam, then you’ll love this book! Those who have seen Spicks and Specks, The Last Leg, and his stand-up shows will delight in the prose, which is that genuine and down to earth, anecdotal, method of telling stories with profound meaning or incredible inspiration that Adam has in spades. Like a three hundred page transcript of one of his shows, Best Food Forward tells these genuine, but also slightly unbelievable (to me and you at least) stories that are awesome in that they involve this exciting level of celebrity in them, but at the same time blur the distinction between celebrity and mundane as they are told in this delightfully innocent and casual way. The anecdotal vibe really gives the book an intimacy and genuine edge that’s really lovely.

Image credit: The Sit Down Comedy Club

As a person that multiple nations already know and love, Best Food Forward tells us that little bit more about Adam; like a friend we’ve known for years, but are still discovering little quirks about. It’s an entertaining, funny, and often heart warming read that everyone (Hillsy old-hats and newcomers alike) will enjoy.

Best Foot Forward is the autobiography and first book written by comedian and TV presenter Adam Hills. He began writing it in 2003 with various journal entries detailing exciting or inspirational events and it became a fully-fledged autobiography, published by Hachette and hitting shelves a few months ago.