Reaching Out

Description

John Kirwan was one of New Zealand's greatest All Black wingers, pulling on the black jersey for the first time as a 19-year-old and playing 96 matches for the men in black. But black was soon to become his whole outlook. Despite his phenomenal rugby career and happy family life, John Kirwan found himself spiralling in a black hole, scared of how he might act, suffering panic attacks and not knowing what was going on in his head. Now JK is the public face of an advertising campaign that encourages people to seek help for depression, and he's gained a big group of admirers for being brave enough to speak out about a subject usually thought of as a social taboo. His vivid descriptions of his experience with depression in a series of TV commercials is being credited with a rise in men asking for help. This book outlines his experiences and describes what he did to cope, plus it gives a psychiatrist's views of other coping strategies.

John Kirwan is currently the head coach of the Japan rugby team. He was the head coach of the Italian rugby club and is highly regarded as a very effective coach.