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Baggage : tales from a fully packed life / Alan Cumming.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Dey St., an imprint of William Morrow, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First editionDescription: 270 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780062435781
  • 0062435787
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Elementary -- Suspensory -- Emergency -- Mortality -- Astrology -- Lucky -- Domesticity -- Primatology -- Debauchery -- Discovery -- Agony -- Authenticity -- Ecstasy -- Chemistry -- Insanity -- Mutancy -- Agency -- Sanctuary -- Finally.
Summary: "With the release of his first memoir, Not My Father's Son, Alan Cumming felt the power that came with sharing his truth. Shocking fans and readers with the reality of his childhood trauma, Not My Father's Son was a #1 New York Times bestseller and universally landed for its searing honesty and the way in which Alan relentlessly sought answers to questions about his family and his past. And, as an added and perhaps unexpected benefit, he inspired others to engage with their own sources of pain. Alan found that his words were powerful, that his authenticity was a clarion call. But behind the fun-loving, happy persona is the truth of Alan's life, a truth he shares in Baggage. The message that comes through time and time again in this wise and witty second memoir is that the past is not something to forget or 'get over.' Alan hasn't miraculously healed from the trauma of his father's abuse. His life today is one where he artfully manages what happened to him, even as it still haunts. In a series of episodes that are bookended by two marriages, the ending of his first to his wife, and the start of his second to his husband, Baggage charts Alan's unique and wonderful career onstage and onscreen and all the times that Hollywood has, since his nervous breakdown at the age of twenty-eight, swooped into his life to whisk him away from all sorts of calamity or moments of personal destruction. Populated by marquee names (Liza! Faye Dunaway! Gore Vidal! X-Men! Kubrick! The Spice Girls!) and moments of hilarity, heartbreak, bad decisions, bold moves, but always authenticity, Alan Cumming reveals himself as entirely human -- a happy, flawed, vulnerable, fearless middle-aged man, with a lot of baggage. An entertaining, but entirely thoughtful, memoir of a man who embraces both the darkness and the light, Baggage is a true delight from start to finish." -- From publisher's description.
List(s) this item appears in: LGBTQIA+ Reads for Adults | LGBTQ+ History Month | Celebrity Written Books
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library Biography CUMMING, A. C971 Available 33111010602213
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography CUMMING, A. C971 Available 33111010745178
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"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.

"With the release of his first memoir, Not My Father's Son, Alan Cumming felt the power that came with sharing his truth. Shocking fans and readers with the reality of his childhood trauma, Not My Father's Son was a #1 New York Times bestseller and universally landed for its searing honesty and the way in which Alan relentlessly sought answers to questions about his family and his past. And, as an added and perhaps unexpected benefit, he inspired others to engage with their own sources of pain. Alan found that his words were powerful, that his authenticity was a clarion call. But behind the fun-loving, happy persona is the truth of Alan's life, a truth he shares in Baggage. The message that comes through time and time again in this wise and witty second memoir is that the past is not something to forget or 'get over.' Alan hasn't miraculously healed from the trauma of his father's abuse. His life today is one where he artfully manages what happened to him, even as it still haunts. In a series of episodes that are bookended by two marriages, the ending of his first to his wife, and the start of his second to his husband, Baggage charts Alan's unique and wonderful career onstage and onscreen and all the times that Hollywood has, since his nervous breakdown at the age of twenty-eight, swooped into his life to whisk him away from all sorts of calamity or moments of personal destruction. Populated by marquee names (Liza! Faye Dunaway! Gore Vidal! X-Men! Kubrick! The Spice Girls!) and moments of hilarity, heartbreak, bad decisions, bold moves, but always authenticity, Alan Cumming reveals himself as entirely human -- a happy, flawed, vulnerable, fearless middle-aged man, with a lot of baggage. An entertaining, but entirely thoughtful, memoir of a man who embraces both the darkness and the light, Baggage is a true delight from start to finish." -- From publisher's description.

Elementary -- Suspensory -- Emergency -- Mortality -- Astrology -- Lucky -- Domesticity -- Primatology -- Debauchery -- Discovery -- Agony -- Authenticity -- Ecstasy -- Chemistry -- Insanity -- Mutancy -- Agency -- Sanctuary -- Finally.

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