
Lessons in Becoming Myself
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ellen Burstyn
-
By:
-
Ellen Burstyn
About this listen
Ellen Burstyn has always defied expectations. Born in Detroit during the Depression, she left home at 18 and became a model for J. L. Hudson, Detroit's largest department store. After a failed marriage and a string of unsatisfying relationships and jobs, Burstyn settled in New York, where she began her career as an actress. Her first audition landed her the lead in a Broadway play, with the show's producer, legendary playwright and director Moss Hart, telling her, "You're natural."
After Burstyn reluctantly moved to Los Angeles with her second husband, she eventually turned to film, delivering brilliant performances in The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress), Same Time, Next Year, Resurrection, and Requiem for a Dream.
Burstyn describes the personal missteps, toxic relationships, and private demons she has battled, and how confronting them prompted her to find a different life path. Raised a Catholic, she has traveled the world exploring a range of spiritual experiences. From the Swiss Alps to Cambodia, from the Himalayas to the streets of New York, she has sought and found answers to life's most puzzling questions.
Lessons in Becoming Myself is the extraordinary story of her quest for the examined life. By turns tragic and funny, thoughtful and lighthearted, it is a brilliant accomplishment by one of the finest observers of human nature.
©2006 Matrix Movies, Inc. (f/s/o Ellen Burstyn) (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reservedListeners also enjoyed...
-
My Name Is Barbra
- By: Barbra Streisand
- Narrated by: Barbra Streisand
- Length: 48 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture. In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career.
-
-
BARBRA IS LIKE BUTTAH!
- By JoeGato57 on 11-08-23
By: Barbra Streisand
-
Uncle of the Year
- & Other Debatable Triumphs
- By: Andrew Rannells
- Narrated by: Andrew Rannells
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Uncle of the Year, Andrew Rannells wonders: If he, now in his forties, has everything he’s supposed to need to be an adult—a career, property, a well-tailored suit—why does he still feel like an anxious twenty-year-old climbing his way toward solid ground? In deeply personal essays, Rannells argues that we all pretend—for friends, partners, parents, and others—that we are constantly succeeding in the process known as “adulting.” But if this acting is leaving us unfulfilled, then we need new markers of time, new milestones, new expectations of what adulthood is and can be.
-
-
Funny and insightful
- By Gvlgal on 04-21-25
By: Andrew Rannells
-
If You Would Have Told Me
- A Memoir
- By: John Stamos
- Narrated by: John Stamos
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you would have told a young John Stamos flipping burgers at his dad’s fast-food joint that one day he’d be a household name and that, at the height of his success, he’d be living alone, divorced, with no kids, high on a cocktail of forgetting, he might’ve asked, “You want fries with that?”
-
-
Don't expect Uncle Jesse's autobiography...
- By Song4Ten on 10-24-23
By: John Stamos
-
Thicker than Water
- A Memoir
- By: Kerry Washington
- Narrated by: Kerry Washington
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While on a drive in Los Angeles, on a seemingly average afternoon, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question.
-
-
Technical issues are ruining an otherwise good story
- By Lindsay on 09-27-23
By: Kerry Washington
-
Being Henry
- The Fonz . . . and Beyond
- By: Henry Winkler
- Narrated by: Henry Winkler
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
-
-
Sweet human
- By Lisa Singer on 11-07-23
By: Henry Winkler
-
Leading Lady
- A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy
- By: Charles Busch
- Narrated by: Charles Busch
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Tony Award-nominated writer of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and the long-running hit Off-Broadway play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and a Sundance Festival award winner Charles Busch has created a unique place in the entertainment world as a playwright, LGBT icon, drag actor, director, and cabaret performer, with his extraordinary gift for both connecting with and channeling the leading ladies of show business.
-
-
A transporting memoir of a great talent.
- By dognique on 12-16-24
By: Charles Busch
-
My Name Is Barbra
- By: Barbra Streisand
- Narrated by: Barbra Streisand
- Length: 48 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture. In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career.
-
-
BARBRA IS LIKE BUTTAH!
- By JoeGato57 on 11-08-23
By: Barbra Streisand
-
Uncle of the Year
- & Other Debatable Triumphs
- By: Andrew Rannells
- Narrated by: Andrew Rannells
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Uncle of the Year, Andrew Rannells wonders: If he, now in his forties, has everything he’s supposed to need to be an adult—a career, property, a well-tailored suit—why does he still feel like an anxious twenty-year-old climbing his way toward solid ground? In deeply personal essays, Rannells argues that we all pretend—for friends, partners, parents, and others—that we are constantly succeeding in the process known as “adulting.” But if this acting is leaving us unfulfilled, then we need new markers of time, new milestones, new expectations of what adulthood is and can be.
-
-
Funny and insightful
- By Gvlgal on 04-21-25
By: Andrew Rannells
-
If You Would Have Told Me
- A Memoir
- By: John Stamos
- Narrated by: John Stamos
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you would have told a young John Stamos flipping burgers at his dad’s fast-food joint that one day he’d be a household name and that, at the height of his success, he’d be living alone, divorced, with no kids, high on a cocktail of forgetting, he might’ve asked, “You want fries with that?”
-
-
Don't expect Uncle Jesse's autobiography...
- By Song4Ten on 10-24-23
By: John Stamos
-
Thicker than Water
- A Memoir
- By: Kerry Washington
- Narrated by: Kerry Washington
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While on a drive in Los Angeles, on a seemingly average afternoon, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question.
-
-
Technical issues are ruining an otherwise good story
- By Lindsay on 09-27-23
By: Kerry Washington
-
Being Henry
- The Fonz . . . and Beyond
- By: Henry Winkler
- Narrated by: Henry Winkler
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
-
-
Sweet human
- By Lisa Singer on 11-07-23
By: Henry Winkler
-
Leading Lady
- A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy
- By: Charles Busch
- Narrated by: Charles Busch
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Tony Award-nominated writer of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and the long-running hit Off-Broadway play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and a Sundance Festival award winner Charles Busch has created a unique place in the entertainment world as a playwright, LGBT icon, drag actor, director, and cabaret performer, with his extraordinary gift for both connecting with and channeling the leading ladies of show business.
-
-
A transporting memoir of a great talent.
- By dognique on 12-16-24
By: Charles Busch
-
Sure, I'll Join Your Cult
- A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere
- By: Maria Bamford
- Narrated by: Maria Bamford
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford’s “trademark blend of disarming intimacy and dark whimsy” (Publishers Weekly), Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult brings us on a quest to participate in something.
-
-
Hilarious and sincere
- By B. Bazzell on 09-06-23
By: Maria Bamford
-
Chita
- A Memoir
- By: Chita Rivera
- Narrated by: Chita Rivera
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The long-awaited and wildly entertaining memoir of the star of stage and screen, the legendary Chita Rivera—three-time Tony Award-winner, Kennedy Centers honoree, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
-
-
Chita
- By Just a customer on 05-05-23
By: Chita Rivera
-
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
- A Memoir
- By: Paul Newman, David Rosenthal - editor, Melissa Newman - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: Jeff Daniels, Melissa Newman, Clea Newman Soderlund, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stuart was to compile an oral history, to have Newman’s family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actor’s life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. The result is The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man—revelatory and introspective, personal and analytical, loving and tender in places, always complex and profound.
-
-
A lot of navel gazing, and yet….
- By Ben on 10-24-22
By: Paul Newman, and others
-
Dying of Politeness
- A Memoir
- By: Geena Davis
- Narrated by: Geena Davis
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From two-time Academy Award winner and screen icon Geena Davis, the surprising tale of her “journey to badassery”—from her epically polite childhood to roles that loaned her the strength to become a powerhouse in Hollywood.
-
-
so perfect
- By Kimber on 10-16-22
By: Geena Davis
-
In Pieces
- By: Sally Field
- Narrated by: Sally Field
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this intimate, haunting, literary memoir read by the author, an American icon tells her story for the first time, in her own gorgeous words - about a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother.
-
-
Riveting Life Story of Sally Field's
- By DAW on 09-20-18
By: Sally Field
-
The Beauty of Living Twice
- By: Sharon Stone
- Narrated by: Sharon Stone
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sharon Stone, one of the most renowned actresses in the world, suffered a massive stroke that cost her not only her health, but her career, family, fortune, and global fame. In The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone chronicles her efforts to rebuild her life and writes about her slow road back to wholeness and health. In a business that doesn’t accept failure, in a world where too many voices are silenced, Stone found the power to return, the courage to speak up, and the will to make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children around the globe.
-
-
Change after a close encounter with Death
- By Maktoum Saeed Al-Maktoum on 04-04-21
By: Sharon Stone
-
Hello, Molly!
- A Memoir
- By: Molly Shannon, Sean Wilsey
- Narrated by: Molly Shannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.
-
-
Molly is a superstar!!!
- By Marlene on 04-29-22
By: Molly Shannon, and others
-
My Life So Far
- By: Jane Fonda
- Narrated by: Jane Fonda
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood's elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths.
-
-
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!!!!
- By Ludimila on 06-29-13
By: Jane Fonda
-
The Girl on the Balcony
- By: Olivia Hussey, Alexander Martin, Franco Zeffirelli - foreword
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid memoir, Olivia Hussey tells her story - from being an "It Girl" in swinging '60s London and her enduring friendship with Romeo & Juliet costar Leonard Whiting, through three tumultuous marriages - including one with Dean Martin's son, Dino - motherhood, stage-four breast cancer, debilitating agoraphobia, bankruptcy, and ultimately, a journey of self-discovery in India that led her on a path to fulfillment. Featuring a foreword by her star-making director Franco Zeffirelli, Olivia Hussey's memoir shines with her luminous spirit and perseverance.
-
-
Ugh
- By Harry and Sam on 01-23-19
By: Olivia Hussey, and others
-
Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic
- By A. Soergel on 10-11-23
By: David Zucker, and others
-
This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.
-
-
Simply Brilliant
- By Stuart Huddart on 09-21-21
By: Miriam Margolyes
-
Wishful Drinking
- By: Carrie Fisher
- Narrated by: Carrie Fisher
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher tells the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Wars when only 19 years old. "But it isn't all sweetness and light sabers."
-
-
Wishful Grieving
- By Cynthia on 01-04-17
By: Carrie Fisher
Critic reviews
"I deeply admire Ellen Burstyn's...urgency...[in] pursuing enlightenment. An extremely moving story of a fully lived life." (Toni Morrison)
"Candid and unassuming, Burstyn's intuitive memoir is a balanced mix of insider theatrical anecdotes and inspired philosophical revelations, a guileless apologia for one woman's desire to authenticate her experiences, professional and personal." (Booklist)
What listeners say about Lessons in Becoming Myself
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 02-28-15
What an interesting life!
Would you listen to Lessons in Becoming Myself again? Why?
I don't typically reread or re-listen to books, but if I did, I would happily do it with this book again. She lived such an interesting life and it was fascinating to hear her different experiences.
Any additional comments?
Overall, I was very pleased with the story and narration. I would recommend this to anyone interested in books about interesting women and how they dealt with their life and struggles.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Waite
- 01-30-19
Very Interesting
I found her story compelling and her narration enjoyable. Her mother sure was a character!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Goodpeople
- 12-14-18
Inspirational
So beautifully written you can almost smell her descriptions. What a gift to read about all the paths she took. I will always remember her prayer about the warrior on the battlefield and her conversations with Lee. Listening to her narration made it feel like you were having tea with an amazingly wise, intelligent, interesting, admirable person. And I was surprised by how relatable she felt. I couldn't wait to get back to the story each time. It was wonderful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joanna Bronson
- 07-18-21
A Goddess
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I will forever be grateful for your story and work. An incredible human and a brave mentality. Thank you for being you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jill Chiciak
- 02-06-18
What a profound and beautiful story!
I'm sad it came to an end. Could not have come into my life at a more perfect time as I explore my own budding consciousness. Beautiful and honest and touching!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sparks
- 12-08-18
Absolutely NOT what I expected
Eye opening look at Ellen Burstyn's pilgrimage though out her life. Behind this incredible actress, is more then I ever knew. This her story is about her long struggle with what boils down to her trying herself, and then finding her true strength. Although it came with plenty of trials and tribulations. I came into to reading this book, because my favorite movie is The Spitfire Grill. I have only seen 3 of her movies. (5 People you Meet in Heaven and Divine Secrets OTY-YS)I went in not knowing anything about her. I didn't know how extensive her career has been. At times I was taken aback by her vignettes of her young adulthood, marriages, rise to fame, Hollywood and her Spiritual side. "There is a lesson in there." The title got it right.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K
- 01-28-15
Love love love this one
This is a book I'm going to listen to again and again and again. Any artist should listen to this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nina V
- 06-08-16
A journey within
I enjoyed the narration of the authors personal inner Journey to self-actualization. Her reflections are deeply poignant at times as she reviews her life's journey, struggles with disfunctional and abusive relations, feminine stereo types, and yearning to belong and be loved.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- gemni573
- 05-08-24
Ellen's Journey is Thought Provoking
I loved it! I have so much admiration for Ellen. This book made me take a look at how I interact with the world around me. Well done Ellen!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Barbara Mooney
- 08-30-24
Sheer honesty
A little bit of jumping around in memories, I get it, but got a little bit lost about the NY street re great. Absolutely loved it overall. I am going to look for Reserection.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!