Pat O’Brien Comes Home With a Story He Hopes Will Inspire Others

Sioux Falls native Pat O'Brien has seen a lot of ups and downs in his life, from attending Axtel Park Middle School, Washington High School, and the University of South Dakota, to the fame, and sometimes pitfalls, of a life in the media.

Pat left Sioux Falls more than 40 years ago to begin a television career that would see him cover six Olympic Games, the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Final Four.

After leaving the sports world, he landed at Access Hollywood and later The Insider.

There were struggles along the way, as Pat, the son of an alcoholic father, was in and out of rehab four different times.

He covers all of that, and so much more, in his new book, 'I'll Be Right Back After This'.

The book brings Pat back home this week, as he makes appearances promoting it and Face It Together, a Sioux Falls-based organization that deals with substance abuse solutions.

I talked with Pat about a wide range of things:

Pat will signing books tonight at Zandbroz, in Downtown Sioux Falls, starting at 5:00pm.