About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarperCollins

ISBN-100062435795

ISBN-139780062435798

eBay Product ID (ePID)7057249026

Product Key Features

Book TitleBaggage : Tales from a Fully Packed Life

Number of Pages288 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2022

TopicLife Stages / General, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Essays, Lgbt

GenreFamily & Relationships, Biography & Autobiography, Literary Collections

AuthorAlan Cumming

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.7 in

Item Weight7.7 Oz

Item Length8 in

Item Width5.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

ReviewsI could not love this man... or this book more. Alan writes with such unvarnished truth and a humor that can only come from a brilliant mind, rapier wit and resilience from emotionally painful life experiences. This book -- like Alan is off the page -- is full of insight, compassion, intellect and wisdom. This is the best Baggage to have., It seems fundamentally unfair that Alan Cumming is, in addition to being a fine actor and a wicked performer, such a hell of a good writer. But he is. He's observant, honest, often trenchantly funny, always emotionally honest. He's an international treasure., An intimate look at the making of a man, an actor, an advocate--and most importantly--a happy human being. Cumming is a natural raconteur, and this feels like a private conversation between the author and the reader. A wonderful book that is funny, honest, fearless, and generous in its vulnerability.", Thoughtful, candid revelations join with intimate confessions while Cumming's witty repartee never falters. Regardless of his traumatic past, the memoir lifts the veil on a happier man who has "transcended and bloomed." With heartfelt anecdotes and an honest perspective, Cumming shares the struggles and joys of a fulfilling life while making peace with the baggage of a troubled past. Cathartic and revelatory, Cumming's memoir will fascinate fans and those who relate to his internal struggle., Everything that makes Alan Cumming so engaging as a person and a performer - his cleverness, kindness, charm, wildness and, above all, authenticity - shines from every page of this wonderful, witty and wise book.

Dewey Edition23

Dewey Decimal792.02/8092 B

SynopsisWhether he's sharing the stage with Liza Minelli, going as Faye Dunaway's last-minute date to the Grammys, going tête-à-tête with a surely Gore Vidal, taking the legendary (and legendarily formidable) Stanley Kubrick to task, staging a superhero intervention with Sir Patrick Stewart and Halle Berry, or dancing with the Spice Girls, Alan Cumming has a knack for finding the humor, and humanity, in every moment. In a series of colorful episodes bookended by two marriages, the ending of his first to his wife, and the start of his second to his husband. Baggage charts Man Cumming's unique and wonderful career and all the times that Hollywood has, since a nervous breakdown at the age of twenty-eight, swooped into his life to whisk him away from moments of confusion or near destruction and introduced levity, joy, or just plain fun. Written with a clear voice that brims with honesty, wit, and a keen eye for the smallest (and often most hilarious) details, Baggage is a memoir from a man who embraces both the darkness and the light, and has found the happy median of a truly authentic life ... albeit with some baggage. Book jacket., "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 A candid and captivating exploration of identity, resilience, and reinvention, Baggage follows Alan Cumming as he navigates the highs and lows of Hollywood, relationships, and personal growth with humor, honesty, and an unflinching commitment to authenticity. 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., "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 A candid and captivating exploration of identity, resilience, and reinvention, Baggage follows Alan Cumming as he navigates the highs and lows of Hollywood, relationships, and personal growth with humor, honesty, and an unflinching commitment to authenticity. 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.