Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life

(Paperback, Main)

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Baggage 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. Startlingly honest, both poignant and joyous, Baggage shines a light on how to embrace the complicated messiness of life.

'To read Baggage is to spend time with the most engaging companion in the world. Charm, wit, insight, entrancingly disarming self-knowledge, hilarious stories by the basketful, Alan Cumming's attributes are endlessly enriching and enchanting. 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' - Stephen Fry

'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

Reviews

'An intimate look at the making of a man, an actor, an advocate and - most importantly - a happy human being. Cumming is a natural raconteur, and this feels like a private conversation between the author and the reader. A wonderful book that is funny, honest, fearless and generous in its vulnerability' - DOUGLAS STUART

'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

'A brilliantly gossipy memoir' - The TImes

'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

'To read Baggage is to spend time with the most engaging companion in the world. Charm, wit, insight, entrancingly disarming self-knowledge, hilarious stories by the basketful, Alan Cumming's attributes are endlessly enriching and enchanting. 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' - STEPHEN FRY

'Alan Cumming's star quality belies a man and a writer of substance, who unpacks his life in this powerful memoir' - Scotsman

Author Bio

Alan Cumming's many awards for his stage and screen work include the Tony, Olivier, BAFTA and Emmy. He is the author of two children's books, a book of photographs and stories, a novel and a memoir, Not My Father's Son. He is a podcaster (Alan Cumming's Shelves) and an amateur barman (NYC's Club Cumming).

@alancumming | alancumming.com