When Andi Petrillo started out in sports broadcasting, it was rare for a woman to host a sports show. Seeing her arrive in the locker room or rinkside often stunned onlookers into silence.
“Maybe I got a kick out of that, where I’m like, yeah, you’re not used to seeing somebody like me,” Petrillo told The Next Chapter host Antonio Michael Downing. “And I said ‘I want to keep going into more spaces where women are not.’ And that led me to being a host of an actual sport.”
Like Petrillo herself, her favourite books have a trailblazing quality. They share themes of perseverance, survival, and self-discovery.
Petrillo joined The Next Chapter to talk about the books that have illuminated her journey so far.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Petrillo’s first pick My Brilliant Friend hits close to home.
“It was my former co-host, now retired CBC legend Scott Russell, who said you have to read this book because it takes place in Naples,” Petrillo said. Petrillo’s father hails from the Italian city.
“From a cultural perspective, there were so many things that resonated with me,” she said. “It very much felt like home right away reading the book.”
The first of the Neapolitan Novels, the book follows two friends on diverging life paths as they navigate their youth together.
For Petrillo, the main characters’ different circumstances served as a reminder that we aren’t all given equal chances in life. “I know I’ve been presented with a ton of opportunity. I’ve taken the bull by the horns, but the bull had to show up too, right?”
Reading it motivated her to support younger women in sports media, “because sometimes they may not get the support elsewhere, but if I can provide that then hopefully they can make brilliant things happen with their opportunities.”
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
When she first picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel in school, Petrillo says it drew her in for one main reason: “I love animals.”
Nowadays revisiting the book is a new experience each time, that always leaves her questioning what key characters and moments signify.
The modern Canadian classic tells the story of a boy, Pi Patel, and a tiger, named Richard Parker, stranded at sea on a lifeboat. “And they strike up a kind of partnership, an understanding of what you need to live, what I need to live. And there’s harmony there,” said Petrillo.
At the core of the story, “it’s just this beautiful synergy of two beings trying to survive, and learning about themselves,” Petrillo said.
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
In Petrillo’s next pick, centenarian Allan Karlsson escapes his nursing home for the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way he relives key historical moments that he had a hand in creating.
“What’s wonderful about this book is that he goes on a journey where he revisits all these aspects of his life that contribute to the current day,” Petrillo said. “It doesn’t dawn on you sometimes when you look at an older person, the life they led that affects your life now.”
For Petrillo the novel offers a counterpoint to common misconceptions about our elders. “We sometimes discard them. We forget that these are the true mages of our lives, and they’ve seen more and done more than we could ever possibly imagine at this stage in our life right now.”
The 100-Year-Old Man “makes you laugh out loud. It’s very sarcastic,” Petrillo said.
Interwoven with its humour, it has a message to deliver: “Respect your elders because a lot of what we have in our lives now, they contributed to that – good or bad!” said Petrillo.
How Not to Die by Michael Greger, with Gene Stone
For her final pick, Petrillo chose something “a little bit more practical.” How Not to Die by physician Michael Greger is a bestselling nutritional science book that recommends foods to eat and avoid in order to prevent negative health outcomes.
“As I’m getting older and there’s aches and pains, and I’m also trying to figure out just how to stay healthy or longer, I am far more interested in just what I put in my body,” she said.
In her memoir Just Call Me “Andi”, Petrillo writes about the difficult relationship many women have with their body image.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had the healthiest relationship with food,” Petrillo said. “Sometimes we torture ourselves with food. And so to me, I really wanted to read this book and start to figure out how the food industry works…and also the foods that are the healthiest for you.”
“If we start eating better and – at the risk of sounding cheesy – reconnect with the earth and the food that comes from it, I feel like our bodies will be better off. And I really wanted to educate myself in that,” said Petrillo.
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
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