Baggage

Tales from a Fully Packed Life

Alan Cumming

Baggage by Alan Cumming (Paperback ISBN 9781838856670) book cover

Available as Paperback, eBook, Downloadable audio

From the New York Times bestselling author of Not My Father’s Son comes a joyous and poignant book about the world of professional acting, the messiness of life and how every experience – good or bad – shapes who you are

Baggage is the story of Alan Cumming’s life in Hollywood, taking us through the highs and lows of his career, from his struggle with mental health and failed relationships to encounters with legends (Liza! X Men! Gore Vidal! Kubrick! Spice Girls!).

Cumming shows how every experience – each bad decision or moment of sensual joy – 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.


“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

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“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

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’s also been known to sing and dance and is an amateur barman (NYC’s Club Cumming).

@alancumming | alancumming.com


Baggage cover

Alan Cumming reads from his memoir Baggage: Tales From a Fully Packed Life.

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