Not My Father's Son: A Memoir

By: Alan Cumming

Narrated by: Alan Cumming

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Publishers

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 .

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.

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!

A great listen!

Not the usual autobiography! Cumming has such a meaningful story to share! Highly recommend this book.

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

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.

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".

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.

THANK YOU ALAN CUMMING.

I have a rule: never listen to a book narrated by its athour. This is the exception . Beautifully, achingly engrossing.

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.