
Not My Father's Son: A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Alan Cumming
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By:
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Alan Cumming
About this listen
Audie Award, Autobiography/Memoir, 2015
Dark, painful memories can be like a cage. Or, in the case of Alan Cumming, they can be packed away in a box, stuck in the attic to be forgotten. Until one day the box explodes and all the memories flood back in horrible detail. Alan Cumming grew up in the grip of a man who held his family hostage, someone who meted out violence with a frightening ease, who waged a silent war with himself that sometimes spilled over onto everyone around him. That man was Alex Cumming, Alan's father.
When television producers approached Alan to appear on a popular celebrity genealogy show in 2010, he enthusiastically agreed. He hoped to solve a mystery that had long cast a shadow over his family. His maternal grandfather, Tommy Darling, had disappeared into the Far East after WWII. Alan's mother knew very little about him - he had been a courier, carrying information between battalions on his motorbike. The last time she saw her father, Alan's mother was eight years old. When she was 13, the family was informed that he had died by his own hand, an accidental shooting.
But this was not the only mystery laid before Alan's feet. His father, whom Alan had not seen or spoken to for more than a decade, reconnected just before filming for Who Do You Think You Are? began. He had a secret he had to share, one that would shock his son to his very core and set into motion a journey that would change Alan's life forever.
With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as the celebrated actor of film, television, and stage. At times suspenseful, at times deeply moving, but always incredibly brave and honest, Not My Father's Son is a powerful story of embracing the best aspects of the past and triumphantly pushing the darkness aside.
©2014 Alan Cumming (P)2014 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Appreciated it, but didn't like it
- By Eugenia on 04-14-16
By: Paul Beatty
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Girls & Boys
- By: Dennis Kelly
- Narrated by: Carey Mulligan
- Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
- Original Recording
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When they met at an airport, it was love at first sight. But in time, everything collapsed. As an unnamed but unforgettable woman muses on her life—from meet cute to marriage and parenthood—her recollections inexorably build to a devastating truth. In this shattering performance, Carey Mulligan, star of the critically lauded drama An Education, captivates audiences with playwright Dennis Kelly’s harrowing ruminations on family, ambition, gender, and violence.
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Be aware of the content before listening
- By Anne Marie on 09-11-18
By: Dennis Kelly
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Sankofa
- A Novel
- By: Chibundu Onuzo
- Narrated by: Sara Powell
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother - the only parent who raised her - is dead. Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president - some would say dictator - of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive.
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Really addictive!
- By Buddy on 10-15-21
By: Chibundu Onuzo
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Oh Miriam!
- Stories from an Extraordinary Life
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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From being escorted off the Today programme (for saying what we were all thinking) to declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave; from Tales of the Unexpected to Graham Norton's sofa, she is our most loved and most outspoken national treasure. Oh Miriam! takes you inside both her head and her heart. Buckle up for the most irrepressible, hilarious and moving listen of 2023.
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Borrow rather than Buy
- By OaklandBookworm on 11-10-23
By: Miriam Margolyes
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Dying of Politeness
- A Memoir
- By: Geena Davis
- Narrated by: Geena Davis
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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so perfect
- By Kimber on 10-16-22
By: Geena Davis
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The Pearl Thief
- By: Elizabeth Wein
- Narrated by: Maggie Service
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From the internationally acclaimed best-selling author of Code Name Verity comes a stunning new story of pearls, love and murder. Sixteen-year-old Julie Beaufort-Stuart is returning to her family's ancestral home in Perthshire for one last summer. It is not an idyllic return to childhood. Her grandfather's death has forced the sale of the house and estate, and this will be a summer of good-byes. Not least to the McEwen family - Highland travellers who have been part of the landscape for as long as anyone can remember.
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Freshwater Pearls and Scottish Plaid
- By Cynthia on 08-14-17
By: Elizabeth Wein
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Calypso
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And it's as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation - and dark humor - toward middle age and mortality.
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Excellent, as always
- By Ruthie on 05-31-18
By: David Sedaris
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Benjamin Alire Saenz
- Narrated by: Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship - the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
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One of the best novels I've listened to in years.
- By Nyx on 10-27-13
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This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Simply Brilliant
- By Stuart Huddart on 09-21-21
By: Miriam Margolyes
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The Life and Loves of a He Devil
- By: Graham Norton
- Narrated by: Graham Norton
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Graham Norton has been entertaining audiences and having fun with some of the world's biggest stars for nearly 20 years. He is loved across the nation for his delight in the peculiar and for his ability to find humour and a common ground in all that life brings.
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Read if you want to laugh-cry...
- By Nelly Norrell on 08-21-15
By: Graham Norton
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I Feel Bad About My Neck
- And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
- By: Nora Ephron
- Narrated by: Nora Ephron
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.
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Don't make me get out of the car...
- By Kestrel on 10-09-06
By: Nora Ephron
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Born with Teeth
- A Memoir
- By: Kate Mulgrew
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Audie Award, Narration by Author, 2016. Raised by unconventional Irish Catholics who knew "how to drink, how to dance, how to talk, and how to stir up the devil", Kate Mulgrew grew up with poetry and drama in her bones. But in her mother, a would-be artist burdened by the endless arrival of new babies, young Kate saw the consequences of a dream deferred.
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Beautiful Memoir
- By Jasmine on 07-23-15
By: Kate Mulgrew
What listeners say about Not My Father's Son: A Memoir
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- Nancy
- 10-19-14
wonderful memoir
So beautifully written. So brave , funny, kind, and honest. It is hard to hear of the terrible abuse that Mr Cummings suffered as a boy, but his revelations and graceful storytelling kept me riveted. I loved hearing the stories in his beautiful Scottish accent and his appreciation of the advantages and absurdity of his chosen career were great fun. I look forward to any future writing by the talented Mr Cumming .
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21 people found this helpful
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- Coleen
- 10-27-14
I really loved this book's message and narration
I am already a fan of Alan Cumming but I loved hearing his family's story. I related to Alan's relationship with his Scottish father. Although my own Scottish father is nowhere near as harsh, there were some unmistakable similarities that I related to strongly.
I don't want to give any spoilers away but the way things unfold in the book, and in Alan's life, are just how things tend to happen in my own life. Life is surprising.
Alan's voice is great. I could listen to him narrate the my tax return but it was especially delightful because it is his own story. I love self-narrated memoirs.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a family, wanted to have a family, or has a family; in short, everyone.
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- Tanya
- 10-22-14
BEST Autobiography...
You MUST read this! His grace of honesty, coupled with great imagery and respect, makes this the best read available.
Yes, Alan, your father as source material is perfect, tormenting and horrific, but perfect for us all the same. Thank You!
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1 person found this helpful
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- S K
- 07-14-15
A great listen!
Not the usual autobiography! Cumming has such a meaningful story to share! Highly recommend this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Miriam Lieberkind
- 04-29-16
An Honest Story
I'm blown away by Alan Comming's raw and honest description of how to survive an abusive father, a lost childhood and a long hidden truth about his grandad. There are no violins playing in the background, no cliches, just a story that crawls underneath your skin and stays there. No words can explain how much I respect Alan by now and how much I admirer his willingness to confront the issues that hurt the most
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- Dr. Louie
- 12-12-16
A Look Inside Two Souls
First, allow me to admit that I've loved Alan Cumming since the first time I saw him perform but I truly don't believe that prejudiced me in his favor on this review.
I'm SOOOOOO glad that he read the book aloud himself and I found his Scottish accent and emphasis to add greatly to enjoyment of the book. Enjoyment, you might rightfully ask? Well, yes, I was somehow able to separate the beauty of his voice from the HORROR of his childhood's story. I'm so glad he shared this story with the rest of us. It was so compelling that I listened to the entire book (5+ hours) in two sessions on adjacent days...couldn't put it down, didn't want to put it down. As much as I like to read, I think I enjoyed this audiobook even more because of his beautiful and colorful voice.
I would recommend this book/audiobook to everyone...those who have suffered abuse during their life and those who have not. This is a very complexly woven tapestry that skillfully jumps back and forth between his childhood and adulthood. I never found that distracting and actually found it helpful in understanding his story.
What does the headline of this review mean, what two souls? His suffering and abused childhood helped me better understand and cleanse me of my own. Thanks, Alan.
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- William
- 03-23-15
Superlative
I can't express too many superlatives for this book. Alan Cumming uses cuts from the present to the past, along with occasional wild humor, to tell us a disturbing story in a way that allows the reader to take it in a bit at a time. And what color and detail he brings as a reader!
This is one of my favorite Audible books, along with Cumming's reading of "Macbeth".
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- Grace
- 01-27-15
A Difficult Story So Well Told
Such a good book ! Written and narrated beautifully by Alan Cumming, Scottish brogue and all -- a forthright, heartfelt sharing of his life as the son of an angry, abusive father and a loving mother. Family mysteries come to light, and are painfully and slowly exposed. When he is a featured guest on "Who Do You Think You Are" in 2010, information and answers to the mysteries evolve. This is Alan and his brother's journey, with surprises along the way, as they grow to understand their father and their maternal grandfather, to find peace with difficult, failed, and lost relationships. And, untimately, to honor their grandfather by fundraising for current soldiers of war and traveling to his final resting place, at their abusive father's expense. Very well told, alternating chapters between childhood and the present day.
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- Abby Mamacos
- 04-01-15
THANK YOU ALAN CUMMING.
I have a rule: never listen to a book narrated by its athour. This is the exception . Beautifully, achingly engrossing.
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- Beth
- 02-04-19
love!
I bought this so I could listen to Alan Cumming's luscious accent for 10 hours.
I kept listening because he is amazing and the story was devastating and thoughtful, and brought so much more to my knowledge of him.
There are a lot of abuse triggers in here, but the journey he found himself on and the fact that he is truly a wonderful and talented man. I appreciated getting to know him better.
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