Gok Wan's Autobiography 'Through Thick and Thin'

I have recently just finished reading Gok Wan's autobiography 'Through Thick and Thin'. I managed to read it in a matter of days as I couldn't get enough of it. It was so entertaining that hours would pass and I would still have my nose in the book, still in the same position on the sofa and realising that my cuppa had now gone cold. 


I love reading autobiography's because not only do you get a fantastic insight into your favourite celebrity and that you can know the 'real' story straight from the horses' mouth , you can also feel a sense of comfort if you can relate to their personal life and could possibly get questions answered which you have wanted to know for a while.


Until you read the book you will have a misconception of how Gok is portrayed on TV. We all see him as a confident, gay, Chinese man who is a fashion icon as well as a stylist. However, if you knew what it took to reach this high point in his life, you would know that he was extremly insecure, that he was a 19 stone teenager and getting fatter, that it was his bullies which made him successful and that he wanted to be an actor.


Gok Wan lived in Leicester with his family; his mum, dad, brother and sister. Here they started a orientated business as his father would open many Chinese restaurants/takeaways to make an income and to give his family the best lifestyle they could possibly have. It was a constant battle with money as at one point in their life they were able to afford a Jaguar and would transport the Wan family around and they would have a substantial amount of money to live, to having unreliable electricity and using candles to keep them warm in the winter.


Gok also known as 'Babe' or how we know him now as 'Auntie Gok' left school at 16 and went to college in London to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Here he met his bullies which would constantly call him names and poke him daily making him feel so small he would put his education at risk by not turning up to classes. This resulted in Gok getting kicked out of college and heading back to Leicester to work for his family. Cutting a long story short, he soon felt that he didn't fit into the industry for actors as they all had alot more experience, confidence and faith in themselves. He then decided to do makeup. After lieing countless times to try and get a job he found himself with many jobs but not the experience which he had told them he had.  


Reaching to this point in his life he thought the only way to get people to warm to him and be successful was if he lost weight. We all know that the most healthiest way to lose weight is to consume less and exercise more, so that's what I thought Gok did to shed an amazing 10 stone in a matter of months. I was wrong. He took a dangerous amount of laxatives a day, 40 to be precise and this soon quickly  triggered up to 100 a day.


Becoming very frail and being sick hourly and losing his witty personaility he noticed a dramatic change and that his life had come to breaking point. He was now diagnosed with an eating disorder...anorexia. Till this day he is battling with his weight trying to find the sensible balance between the love of food and not getting fat again.


He soon took an interest in how he would dress and used to always dress his mother and sister up. This was it, he wanted to be a stylist. Gok soon found himself landed in a dream job with too many offers for him to say yes to. With two TV shows 'How to look good naked' and 'Gok's fashion fix', has designed a line of glasses in Specsavers, done an underwear and accessories range, two books and multitudes of interviews, it's fair to say Gok has climbed that ladder and he can finally get the fame he deserves.


Despite telling women on his show to face their insecurities by looking in the mirror and to talk through what they don't like about their bodies, Gok still battles with his insecurities too. Yet because of this, he can relate to the women and make them feel comfotable and confident about themselves.


What I loved about the book was that it was funny, there were parts which I could relate to but that there were miniature letters he would write to his family and friends within the book saying thank you or things which he couldn't tell them whilst growing up. In addition, he writes down a few recipes which were a family tradition in his father's restaurants.


Now every time I watch one of his shows or hear his voice coming out of a changing room but he's nowhere to be seen,  I always reminis on what he has gone through to achieve such a high status in the fashion world and that his bullies were the ones who made him lose weight and become successful,  as well as finally being happy.

The phrase 'Never judge a book by its cover' is so true. Until you have a strong bond with a person you will never know what they have gone through, or their insecurities. They may have a smile on their face but are they really happy? I would definitely recommend reading this book you will love it! If you're a skint student like me and don't have a birthday coming up, why not read it online as an e book :) Despite having a few repeated words and spelling mistakes it was a great book by the ladies favourite gay bestfriend and was the number one bestselling autobiography. That has got to justify my point surely?! ;)