Thank you for this. I am taking this as my new mantra for mental illness.
No words.
Saw that online. I don’t care much about the talking to strangers part, but going out and trying something new is a great idea.
I have always been up for new foods and something I really loved about Bourdain is that he brought zero pre-judgment against any cuisine. So much of enjoying food is about being open minded.
While I see a darker side to him, I just thought he enjoyed life too much and food too much to end the journey early.
Such a sad day.
Exactly. I posted a tribute to Kate earlier this week. I was an early fan of her bags before she was well known. I have some that are 20+ yrs old. I was truly crushed to hear of her death, as I am Anthony’s.
Someone replied to my post, “Why? with all she had…WHY?”
My response, “Why does any illness end up killing its victim? Because the illness is more powerful than the person.”
I’m literally stunned. I just introduced my oldest son to Parts Unknown last night, we watched the Hong Kong episode together.
Man!
Very interesting, my thoughts run to the same.
The majority of suicidees I’ve known (and I think I know an unusually high number) were major achievers who seemed to have boundless energy, were smart, and always involved with a variety of work and personal projects. Confronted with major depression, go-getters respond by running faster and faster and faster until they run out of track and the Black Dog finally catches up. These folks’ suicides stunned everyone, as their public personas were so energetic and in control.
Depression kills people. It’s no more complicated than that. We hear about the famous ones because they are famous, but it happens to people from all walks of life and success levels. Maybe the break-up was a triggering event, maybe it wasn’t.
You say that in jest, but everything I’ve ever read implies that Fieri’s really one of the good guys and is super nice and supportive in person, as well as giving a lot back to the community, despite the douchey hair and clothing.
Honestly, this just does not surprise me at all. I knew he’d battled substance abuse issues, and people who have that “lust for life” often have the biggest demons on top of it.
RIP, Anthony. You lived more in your time than 10 average people ever do.
Ah, what a shame. I didn’t watch him all that often, but when I did, I usually enjoyed it. I understand he lead a fairly wild life, and the business he was in did not help him stay away from temptation. Still, he was very good at what he did. One of the best.
Damn! My wife & I are both fans, It hit me hard when I heard it.
My wife was admitted to a hospital four days ago for depression & anxiety. She’s been dealing with suicidal thoughts and getting help was way harder than it should have been.
I’m smoking some homemade bacon this evening, I’d like to think Mr Bourdain would approve.
Fieri’s a genuinely good person, and I enjoy watching his “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” show because there’s some damn tasty looking food featured on it, but he doesn’t bring the intellectual depth of commentary/engagement on food, culture, and local history that Bourdain did in his programs.
Such a shame.
Has anyone read his “New Year’s Meltdown”, about what happened when he was an assistant chef at some nightclub and a series of disasters ruined the fancy New Year’s Eve they had? (It was a combination of poor planning on another chef’s part plus some technical problems.) It’s in an anthology called Don’t Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Chefs, but I think I’ve seen it elsewhere, although I can’t find it on Google.
A second opinion on Mr Fieri.
I’ve read it. I have that book. Bourdain’s piece is one of the better stories in there.
The book as a whole is a little disappointing. Some of the other chefs didn’t describe catastrophes so much as name-drop what celebrities they had cooked for.
I won’t say I expected him to do that, but having read Kitchen Confidential and his openness about his struggles I can’t say I’m completely surprised or shocked.
What’s the deal with celebrities hanging themselves this week?
As I learned from my oldest sister (may she rest in peace) you can be outgoing, funny, charming, professionally successful… and suicidal. The disorder doesn’t always show on the outside.
It’s a tragedy, but as someone else mentioned, the fact he made it to 61 was also something of a victory as well. People are complex, we should acknowledge that.
I believe there is statistical support for the idea of copycat suicides. I won’t look for it now (seems too clinical). But there’s a reason most responsible news outlets run ‘suicide hotline’ numbers along with stories such as this.
Someone on Twitter said that Bourdain’s show was pretty much the only thing on television that actively promoted the idea of not fearing ‘the stranger’ and foreign cultures. Sadly, that’s probably true.
I think the reason no one reacted to my outburst on the train was either because not many knew who he was, or because most of them were wearing headphones.
I know plenty of drunks and depressed folk, and those with other mental illnesses. So far, no one has killed themselves. It sucks to be this way, but it’s not a death sentence.
Often people respond with some variation of “Why? The person was so happy!”
Some people work hard to be (and/or seem to be) happy 24/7, because they’re afraid of what might happen if they stopped doing that.
I wonder if his death will turn out to have actually been an auto-erotic asphyxiation mishap. Other ccelebrities have died that way.