Most Popular Books by Alan Cumming

The acclaimed actor profiles his turbulent relationship with his father and discusses his 2010 appearance in a celebrity genealogy show to solve the disappearance of a WWII hero grandparent and his discovery of astounding family secrets.

"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 A candid and captivating exploration of identity, resilience, and reinvention, Baggage follows Alan Cumming as he navigates the highs and lows of Hollywood, relationships, and personal growth with humor, honesty, and an unflinching commitment to authenticity. 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. It’s the story of learning to live with your baggage, not conquer it. This deeply personal book chronicles: A Story of Survival: Beyond the success, Cumming is unflinching about the nervous breakdown that reshaped his life at 28 and the ongoing work of managing his past. Marriage and Sexuality: A candid look at the end of his first marriage to a woman, the journey to his second with a man, and the many kissed toads in between. Hollywood Highs and Lows: From the Spice Girls to Stanley Kubrick, this book is filled with unforgettable encounters with legends and the reality of a life lived on sets and stages. Radical Honesty: A follow-up to Not My Father’s Son that rejects the simple “Hollywood ending” in favor of the messy, complicated, and fearless truth.

Actor and New York Times bestselling author Alan Cumming and artist Grant Shaffer imagine what their dogs do when they’re not around—and it’s no surprise that the dogs aspire to lead lives as action-packed and glamorous as their dads’! Honey and Leon are rescue mutts who love their dads very much. But their dads often have to go away on glamorous and important business, which worries the dogs. Honey and Leon are done staying home and fretting—they’re off on a dad-protecting adventure! Careful to remain incognito, the two pups shadow their dads on a trip across the sea, keeping them out of danger at every turn! How did they survive without Honey and Leon’s protection for this long?! Alan Cumming and Grant Shaffer wrote this story as a tribute to their own dogs, based on their frequent conversations about what Honey and Leon get up to while they’re away.

Alan Cumming and Grant Shaffer''s world-traveling dogs are back...and off to Scotland! When Honey falls in love with a handsome Scottish pup, will Leon be able to protect their dads on his own? Honey and Leon have done a very good job of keeping their dads safe--but now the dads have decided to travel again! So the two loyal dogs pack up their disguises and secretly follow them all the way to Europe on a Scottish Highland adventure. All is going according to plan...until Honey becomes besotted with a charming Scottish dog named Coll! Can Leon manage to keep their dads out of trouble on his own while Honey is gallivanting with her new beau? Actor Alan Cumming and artist Grant Shaffer bring to life the imagined secret identities of the two dogs they once owned. Hilarious, sassy dialogue and wild escapades make this an unmissable read-aloud, perfect for families who love to put on a show!

Tommy is twenty-nine, lives and loves in London, and has a morbid fear of the c word (commitment), the b word (boyfriend), and the f word (forgetting to call his drug dealer before the weekend). But when he begins to feel the urge to become a father, and the pressure from his boyfriend to make a real commitment to their relationship, Tommy starts to wonder if his chosen lifestyle can ever make him happy. Faced with the choice of maintaining his hedonistic, drugged-out, and admittedly fabulous existence or chucking it all in favor of a far more sensitive, fulfilling, and—let''s face it—slightly more staid lifestyle, Tommy finds himself in a true quandary. Through a series of adventures and misadventures that lead him from London nightspots to New York bedrooms and back, our boy Tommy manages to answer some of life''s most pressing questions—even those he never thought to ask.

Will Freeman does not want children and can''t understand why people keep recommending them. He does however see the point of single mothers, especially if they look like Julie Christie, which is how he gets involved in a single parents'' group and invents a two-year-old whose absence needs no explanation.

A magical concoction of the mischievous, tender, whimsical, and debauched real-life adventures of Alan Cumming, told in his own words and pictures. Described by the New York Times as “a bawdy countercultural sprite” and named one of the most fun people in show business by Time magazine, Alan Cumming is a genuine quadruple threat—an internationally acclaimed, award-winning star of stage, television, and film, as well as a New York Times best-selling author whose real-life vivacity, wit, and charm shine through every page of his third book, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams. In these forty-five picture essays, Cumming recounts his real-life adventures (and often, misadventures), illustrated by his own equally entertaining photographs. From an awkward bonding session with Elizabeth Taylor to poignant stories about his family and friends to some harsh words of wisdom imparted by Oprah that make up the title of this collection, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams is as eclectic, enchanting, and alive as its author.

She stopped and raised the torch. Kate looked. Alone on the wall was the figure of a girl with ice blue eyes and skin that glowed with a pure golden aura, standing out like an island in a dark black lagoon. … There was no mistaking the identity of the tiny figure. Kate was staring at her own image burned into the wall. Bexus is another world, a hostile world of magic, adventure, and tremendous danger, and there’s only one way to get there—die. Neither heaven nor hell, Bexus is a world where the souls of the dead get a second chance. When Kate Gallagher awakens in Bexus after she is killed in a train wreck, she finds that her soul has retained a powerful memory of her earthly form. She also finds she bears a very dangerous mark—a golden aura that indicates purity and possibly the fulfilment of a prophecy. Kate finds herself chosen and suddenly thrust into the middle of a conflict she cannot hope to survive. With nowhere to turn and an entire world counting on her, Kate has no choice but to set out to fulfil her destiny. But Kate and her new friends are not the only ones who know of the prophecy that foretold her arrival. Varak, the tyrant lord of Bexus, is well aware of what her coming could mean for him. He’s determined to capture and kill Kate before she can fulfil her destiny and return peace to Bexus.

Kareem cradled her close to him, tucking her between his arm and his body, trying to keep her head above the thrashing, pounding waves, but Kate fought against him and slipped from his grasp. Moments later, she resurfaced beside him, and as he reached for her once more, she gripped his head between her two hands and screamed into his face. Hawklight! Find Hawklight! He cant swim! Leave me! I can make it back to the boat! He opened his mouth to argue, but she yelled him down. Dont you understand? Find Hawklight! A flash of lightning lit her face. Her eyes were wide, fearful, and pleading. The world of Bexus, a hostile place of magic, adventure, and tremendous danger, is once again in peril, and only Kate Gallagher can help. The Hornshurst Talisman, also known as the Toki-Moai, has been stolen, and the citizens of Hornshurst want it backat any cost. Because of the theft, the city-states of Hornshurst and Cherath have led Bexus to the brink of another crippling war. The Council of Hogarth orders Kate to intervene and wield the power of the crystal that she wrested from Varak only months ago, but Kate has discarded the stone. Once this fact becomes known, she must agree to track down the thief and return the talisman to its rightful owners to avert the war. But Kate and her companion, Hawklight, are not the only ones seeking the Toki-Moai. Fate has played its hand, and Kate cannot begin to comprehend all that she may lose in order for the quest to succeed.

Kate Gallagher has returned to Hogarth only to learn terrible news: as he was leading a secret expedition south, her estranged friend Hawklight was murdered by unknown assassins. Driven by guilt because she created the rift in their friendship, Kate vows to avenge his death. But as she begins to sift through the facts about his mysterious mission, she uncovers a diabolical plot that threatens to resurrect the spectre of Varak in the form of a new overlord of Bexus. Time is running out as Kate and her friends embark on a perilous adventure to prevent the unthinkable from happening. Unfortunately, others are constantly a step ahead in the race, and throughout the quest Kate and her companions are ruthlessly pursued in an attempt to prevent them from succeeding. Kate''s destiny is inextricably entwined in this twisted power struggle, as she alone possesses the capability to prevent another tyrant from enslaving the planet. But she has yet to discover that there is a steep price to pay as an old nemesis seeks to settle a score.

Newborn male circumcision is the most common surgical procedure performed in the U.S. It''s a common misconception that there are tangible health benefits to male circumcision, but the truth is no medical society in the world recommends it. This invasive procedure carries serious health risks, including infection, hemorrhage, surgical mishap, and death, as well many ethical considerations. Yet, despite these risks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are developing public health recommendations that could mislead more parents into agreeing to circumcision for their newborn baby boys. Alan Cumming would like to change that. In May the Foreskin Be with You, the beloved TV and Broadway star, a passionate "intactavist" on the issue of circumcision, walks readers through the hows and whys of the circumcision controversy, including a conversation about the origins of circumcision, its history, the cultural and religious reasons given for performing them--and why they''re flawed--a look at what can go wrong during the procedure, along with personal testimonials by men who have had/not had a circumcision performed, byparents, physicians, and celebrities. Joining Alan in conversation on this controversial subject matter are a host of medical experts, educators, and activists who stand on the frontline of the circumcision debates and who share their expert points of view. Substantive, enlightening, yet light-hearted with Alan''s clever brand of humor, May the Foreskin Be with You is an open-minded, long-overdue invitation to begin a public discussion on this critical and much-misunderstood issue.

Actor and New York Times bestselling author Alan Cumming and artist Grant Shaffer imagine what their dogs do when they’re not around—and it’s no surprise that the dogs aspire to lead lives as action-packed and glamorous as their dads’! Honey and Leon are rescue mutts who love their dads very much. But their dads often have to go away on glamorous and important business, which worries the dogs. Honey and Leon are done staying home and fretting—they’re off on a dad-protecting adventure! Careful to remain incognito, the two pups shadow their dads on a trip across the sea, keeping them out of danger at every turn! How did they survive without Honey and Leon’s protection for this long?! Alan Cumming and Grant Shaffer wrote this story as a tribute to their own dogs, based on their frequent conversations about what Honey and Leon get up to while they’re away.

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.

A new translation of Fo''s play which aims to be faithful to the clear-sighted insanity of the original. The author''s other plays include "Mistero Buffo", "Trumpets and Raspberries" and "Archangels Don''t Play Pinball".