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 thirteen, 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.
1 有用 Lainey 2017-01-12 16:45:38
有必要出一本书讲这个吗.. 父母皆祸害小组可以拿去
0 有用 ZZ 2020-11-18 08:59:47
很真挚,但是有点重复。
0 有用 vera 2015-05-12 20:45:46
Real and touching,the feeling deep in his heart,truth is better accepted as truth,not secret.
0 有用 大约在冬季 2017-01-17 13:41:45
it is really sad. a father suspicous of his wife's infidelity,abused his children for all of his life.because of misunderstanding,this causes too many tragedies.
0 有用 鸭子嘎嘎叫228 2018-12-18 09:08:54
刚看了开头,好心疼eli,多元跌宕的人生。姥爷的人生有点传奇,Darling这个姓好听。
0 有用 Jacqueline_琳 2024-04-16 04:01:30
@Audible. I admire Alan’s courage for revisiting a traumatic childhood, but I can’t help but hope he could go deeper than recounting personal misery and show us what it’s really like to be afflicted b... @Audible. I admire Alan’s courage for revisiting a traumatic childhood, but I can’t help but hope he could go deeper than recounting personal misery and show us what it’s really like to be afflicted by mental illnesses and the questions one asks as they work toward reconciliation. (展开)
0 有用 阿蒙 2024-03-26 07:57:01 美国
开头一般,且听且看,我很喜欢他演的Eli!听得七七八八,过于私人写作,不推荐。
0 有用 剥洋葱 2022-03-11 13:27:19
Libby上借的有声书,alan自己读的,不是非常重的苏格兰口音。没想到他有个这么abusive的父亲,但他真的太优秀、强大了,没有被击垮也没有复制他父亲的暴力。而且alan叔对女性的态度让我对他很加分,查了下他2016年还endorsed了bernie sanders,为me too发声,真的太加分了。接下来准备再读他新的回忆录。
0 有用 ZZ 2020-11-18 08:59:47
很真挚,但是有点重复。
0 有用 至此不谈风月 2020-06-28 01:26:13
在此之前,我对Alan的所有了解,也不过是看了他的Cabaret,以及他跟Kristin一起主持的Tony。我没想到在某种程度上,我们经历过如此相似的事。他写父亲的暴力,易怒,无常,写他每一次紧张或是突然放松的呼吸,我如此感同身受。我也因此好爱他的彻底坦白,他管不住自己向每一个人叙述在他生命中发生的每一件事,好巧我也是这样。很难得在讲述这么沉重的故事时,他还总在尽力找回幽默的调子,连acknowl... 在此之前,我对Alan的所有了解,也不过是看了他的Cabaret,以及他跟Kristin一起主持的Tony。我没想到在某种程度上,我们经历过如此相似的事。他写父亲的暴力,易怒,无常,写他每一次紧张或是突然放松的呼吸,我如此感同身受。我也因此好爱他的彻底坦白,他管不住自己向每一个人叙述在他生命中发生的每一件事,好巧我也是这样。很难得在讲述这么沉重的故事时,他还总在尽力找回幽默的调子,连acknowledgments都写得有趣。也总在以己度人,会想到女性是怎样被剥夺力量继而权利,会忧心老兵的PTSD并为了改变现状尽力而为。而且他那么善良而宽容,原谅自己的父亲是我无论如何也做不到的事。还不懦弱,会一次次和父亲对峙,处理遗嘱也很解气【被他安利了The Eurovision song contest (展开)