CBC Olympics host Andi Petrillo shares the books that have stayed with her

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.

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.”

W