You may admire the reckless behavior and carefree attitude of the rockstar in part because you’d like to worry a bit less about what other people thought or whether that party will compromise your sleep score.
Not because you’d like to do the exact same thing they do.
It´s not about Bourdain being unpleasant at all, much by the contrary, its about the author realizing Bourdain path was not for everybody, and it seems, not for the author at the end.
And I didn’t imply Mr Bourdain was unpleasant or anything else. My point is that you cannot conclude much accurately about a person based on their works.
You can admire their dedication to the mission, their wealth, ingenuity, etc.
But it’s easy to forget that for many of them, it comes at the expense of seeing their kids, spending time with their spouse, and their own health.
I’d much rather sell a company for $20m and have a happy marriage than be a billionaire stuck in a cycle of divorces and estranged children.