{"title":"Alan Cumming","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlan Cumming’s works offer intimate and candid explorations of identity, family, and personal history. His writing blends heartfelt reflection with wit and honesty, inviting readers into deeply human experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for fans of \u003cem\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e, these titles reveal the complexities of life through vivid storytelling and memorable narratives, making each memoir a compelling journey of self-discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"not-my-fathers-son-by-alan-cumming-9781782115465","title":"Not My Father's Son","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI learned something about myself that night. When I get really shocking news, my entire body tries to get the hell away as quickly as possible. The repercussions of this bombshell would reverberate in my life for a long time to come.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA beloved star of stage and screen, Alan Cumming's life and career have been shaped by a complex and dark family past - full of troubled memories, kept buried away. But then an unexpected phone call from his long-estranged father brought the pain of the past hurtling back into the present, and unravelled everything he thought he knew about himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNot My Father's Son\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of his journey of discovery, both a memoir of his childhood in Scotland, and an investigation into his family history which would change him forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46521495847148,"sku":"9781782115465","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/13855273482822.jpg?v=1749014905"},{"product_id":"baggage-by-alan-cumming-9781838856670","title":"Baggage","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBaggage\u003c\/em\u003e chronicles the actor's life in Hollywood and the ways in which work has repeatedly whisked him away from personal calamities to sets and stages around the world. Taking us through the highs and lows of his career, his struggle with mental health, each failed relationship or encounter with a legend (Liza! X Men! Gore Vidal! Kubrick! Spice Girls!), every bad decision or moment of sensual joy, Cumming shows how every experience—good or bad—has shaped who he is today: a happy, flawed, vulnerable, fearless middle-aged man, with a lot of baggage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStartlingly honest, both poignant and joyous, \u003cem\u003eBaggage\u003c\/em\u003e shines a light on how to embrace the complicated messiness of life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'To read \u003cem\u003eBaggage\u003c\/em\u003e is to spend time with the most engaging companion in the world. \u003cstrong\u003eCharm, wit, insight, entrancingly disarming self-knowledge, hilarious stories by the basketful, Alan Cumming's attributes are endlessly enriching and enchanting\u003c\/strong\u003e. Only one negative, I just hated to see the right-hand page count, the pages yet to be read, thinning down and reminding me, like a tolling bell, that this joyous ride was coming to an end' - \u003cstrong\u003eStephen Fry\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'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' - Neil Gaiman\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46529555366124,"sku":"9781838856670","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/19551523482842.jpg?v=1749222858"},{"product_id":"baggage-by-alan-cumming-9781838856649","title":"Baggage","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe release I felt in writing my first memoir, \u003ci\u003eNot My Father's Son\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut. No one ever fully recovers from their past. There is no cure for it. You just learn to manage and prioritise 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIronically maybe, much of \u003ci\u003eBaggage\u003c\/i\u003e 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 endeavoured 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 \u003ci\u003elot\u003c\/i\u003e of baggage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'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' - Neil Gaiman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'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.' - Nigella Lawson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'I could not love this man... or this book more. Alan writes with such unvarnished truth and a humour 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 \u003ci\u003eBaggage\u003c\/i\u003e to have' - Monica Lewinsky\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47485927096556,"sku":"9781838856649","price":36.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/867db878aec14d666911a27c61f838b9.jpg?v=1775789152"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/alan-cumming.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}