[3] Oseland is the author of Jimmy Neurosis (2019, Ecco Press),[4] a critically acclaimed coming-of-age memoir set against the California and New York City punk rock movements of the late 1970s.
Out called the book "nonstop entertainment," while Rolling Stone hailed it as a "vibrant coming-of-age memoir [told] in an instantly lovable voice.
[7] From 1978 to 1980 Oseland was a participant in the nascent punk rock musical and artistic movements taking place in San Francisco and New York City.
[9] In 2014 he left Saveur and became the founding editor-in-chief of Rodale's Organic Life,[10] a lifestyle publication that was named the hottest magazine launch of 2015 by Adweek.
[9] He departed from Rodale's Organic Life in 2016 to begin creating World Food, a book series from Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The series features multiple editions, each of which will explore the cuisine of a specific region: its restaurants and street-food cultures, markets and food stores, chefs and home cooks.
Publishers Weekly wrote, “Oseland…hopes to help people who haven’t had the benefit of a trip to West Sumatra or Kuala Lumpur to discover those places’ scents and tastes.
Oseland devotes close to half the book to explaining ingredients, techniques and eating traditions as well as relating anecdotes from 20 years of roaming the islands and picking up the natives’ cooking wisdom.”[14] Cradle of Flavor was named one of the best books of 2006 by The New York Times, Time Asia, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Good Morning America, among others.
[9] Oseland’s next book was a widely admired coming-of-age memoir called Jimmy Neurosis published by Ecco Press, an imprint of HarperCollins.
The book chronicles Oseland’s turbulent teenage years; he was a participant in the grassroots punk rock movements that were occurring in San Francisco and New York between 1977 and 1980.
"[15] The Los Angeles Times said of the book, "What makes such a story important, after all, is not only that it happened to Oseland but also that, in the telling, it begins to echo the similar passages we all share.
As an actor, Oseland appeared in the films Dracula’s Widow (1988, Christopher Coppola), Liquid Dreams (1991, Mark Manos), and Guncrazy (1992, Tamra Davis).