Audio only
Length8h 36m
About this audiobook
*Read by Alan Cumming himself*
"An intimate look at the making of a man, an actor, an advocate—and most importantly—a happy human being. A wonderful book that is funny, honest, fearless, and generous in its vulnerability." —Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain
There is absolutely no logical reason why I am here. The life trajectory my nationality and class and circumstances portended for me was not even remotely close to the one I now navigate. But logic is a science and living is an art.
The release I felt in writing my first memoir, Not My Father’s Son, was matched only by how my speaking out empowered so many to engage with their own trauma. I was reminded of the power of my words and the absolute duty of authenticity.
But…
No one ever fully recovers from their past. There is no cure for it. You just learn to manage and prioritize it. I believe the second you feel you have triumphed or overcome something – an abuse, an injury to the body or the mind, an addiction, a character flaw, a habit, a person – you have merely decided to stop being vigilant and embraced denial as your modus operandi. And that is what this book is about, and for: to remind you not to buy in to the Hollywood ending.
Ironically maybe, much of Baggage chronicles my life in Hollywood and how, since I recovered from a nervous breakdown at 28, work has repeatedly whisked me away from personal calamities to sets and stages around the world. It is also about marriage(s): starting with the break-up of my first (to a woman) and ending with the ascension to my second (to a man) with many kissed toads in between! But in everything, each failed relationship or encounter with a legend (Liza! X Men! Gore Vidal! Kubrick! Spice Girls!), in every bad decision or moment of sensual joy I have endeavored to show what I have learned and how I’ve become who I am today: a happy, flawed, vulnerable, fearless middle-aged man, with a lot of baggage.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (4.9K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon
GenreLiterary Classics, Biography and Memoir, Self-Help
Length8 hrs 36 mins
Narrated byAlan Cumming
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateOct 26, 2021
LanguageEnglish
More from Alan Cumming
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The North American IndianEdward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
Grimoire Of The Everyday WitchIsadora Lys / Virginia Santos5h 35m4.5 (3.9K)$9 · $0.00
Winnie-the-PoohAlan Alexander Milne2h 52m4.5 (401.1K)$3 · $0.00
Sitting PrettyRebekah Taussig7h 33m4.5 (18.9K)$26 · $0.00
The Poetic Edda & The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson, Saemund Sigfusson9h 34m4.5 (4K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Satires & Essays of Mark Twain (Annotated)Mark Twain23h 21m4.5 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Rilla of InglesideLucy Maud Montgomery10h 58m4.5 (46.7K)$1 · $0.00
The Posthumous Memoirs Of Brás CubasMachado De Assis7h 39m4.4 (120.4K)$5 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Lives of BrianBrian Johnson9h 45m4.6 (3.5K)$29 · $0.00
I Am The StormJanice Dean9h4.6 (1.5K)$8 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
Just as I AmCicely Tyson16h 8m4.6 (99K)$33 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
My Bondage and My Freedom (Annotated)Frederick Douglass15h 30m4.6 (2.4K)$2 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
Learning to PrayJames Martin13h 24m4.5 (3.4K)$33 · $0.00
Spiritual AnatomyDaaji Kamlesh D. Patel9h 47m4.7 (319)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
CrossroadsKaleb Dahlgren7h 56m4.6 (4.9K)$26 · $0.00
Life on the BridgeKaelynn Partlow5h 40m4.6 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
Keep Your Love OnDanny Silk9h 4m4.6 (8.1K)$10 · $0.00
The Tao of Joy Every DayDerek Lin10h 24m4.6 (762)$20 · $0.00
UndividedVicky Beeching9h 2m4.6 (1.3K)$29 · $0.00
Level UpRob Dial7h 42m4.6 (3.3K)$26 · $0.00
Burn the HaystackJennie Young, PhD9h 30m4.6 (543)$29 · $0.00
ACRES OF DIAMONDS: Our Every-day Opportunities (Wisdom & Empowerment Series) (Annotated)Russell Conwell2h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Good InsideBecky Kennedy9h 55m4.5 (59.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Lost VoiceGreta Morgan8h 30m4.7 (285)$26 · $0.00
Stripped DownBunnie Xo8h 25m4.5 (32.9K)$26 · $0.00
UnthinkableJamie Raskin15h 8m4.5 (9.3K)$8 · $0.00
Wallace D. Wattles Ultimate Collection Wallace D. Wattles16h 53m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
Inquire WithinIn-Q2h 18m4.6 (993)$16 · $0.00
Under His WingsEmily Compagno7h 16m4.6 (848)$22 · $0.00
Eat It!Jordan Syatt, Michael Vacanti4h 40m4.6 (1.5K)$20 · $0.00
You may also like
The Half BrotherChristensen, Lars S29h4.0 (6K)Free
Break Up On PurposeJohn Kim6h 26m4.3 (280)$24 · $0.00
All of ThisRebecca Woolf6h 22m3.8 (2.9K)$24 · $0.00
Who Is Wellness For?Fariha Roisin10h 25m3.8 (1.7K)$29 · $0.00
Some Bright NowhereAnn Packer7h 14m3.5 (14.5K)$28 · $0.00
Will and TestamentVigdis Hjorth8h 33m4.0 (25.6K)$20 · $0.00
The Hour I First BelievedWally Lamb25h 10m4.0 (74.4K)$53 · $0.00
The Reason You're AliveMatthew Quick5h 38m4.0 (6.7K)$24 · $0.00
The Trip to Echo SpringOlivia Laing10h 35m3.9 (9.5K)$20
The Anatomy LessonPhilip Roth7h 36m3.8 (4.9K)$20
The Theft of MemoryJonathan Kozol6h 34m3.9 (1.2K)$20 · $0.00
The Dutch HouseAnn Patchett9h 53m4.1 (734.2K)$29 · $0.00
Hit HardJoey Kramer6h 6m3.9 (1K)$24 · $0.00
Grown WomenSarai Johnson14h 5m4.4 (5.1K)$33 · $0.00
His FamilyErnest Poole10h 35m3.6 (2K)$2.30
The Story of YouIan Morgan Cron6h 30m4.1 (2.2K)$24 · $0.00
ShtumJem Lester9h 16m4.1 (8.2K)$23
Still Just a GeekWil Wheaton23h 51m4.1 (4.7K)$53 · $0.00
Open BookJessica Simpson11h 22m4.3 (152.2K)$29 · $0.00
Arm Wrestling with MyselfRobert E. Kaplan1h 29m$10