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UNPROTECTED

A MEMOIR

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Since voice is central to this gripping audio memoir by award-winning performer Billy Porter, it's only fitting that it's narrated by the author himself. With his inimitable rasp and vocal flexibility, Porter tells of his family, childhood, and career, leading up to his eventual star turns in Broadway's KINKY BOOTS and TV's “Pose.” His narration is both intimate and highly performative: While notes of pain and panic permeate his descriptions of violence, sexual abuse, and the endless barriers he faced as a Black, gay man in entertainment, further recollections are infused with humor, theatricality, and snippets of song. Porter repeatedly refers to his voice as both savior and weapon, but with this audiobook he proves that it's also the ideal medium for sharing his truth.

Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2021

Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins

DD ISBN: 9781705041574

Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026

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    FIGHTS WORTH FIGHTING

    FINDING STRENGTH IN STRUGGLE

    Throughout this solid performance, listeners will hear both pain and steadfastness.

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    This is a different take on the celebrity memoir. Lundgren, the Swede best known as Russian fighting behemoth Drago in Rocky IV, offers a straightforward, unadorned, and candid text with a workmanlike narration that suits his firsthand reflections. The perspectives of male members of his entourage, such as his managers and trainers, are voiced with great skill and variety by Rick Adamson, while personal reflections from women are voiced by the equally skilled Nan McNamara. Lundgren has suffered multiple bouts of cancer, and his memoir goes beyond karate belts and film performances to focus on his health battles. Now an American citizen, Lundgren shares his love for his adopted country.

    Throughout this solid performance, listeners will hear both pain and steadfastness.

    Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026

    Duration: 5 hrs, 43 mins

    DD ISBN: 9781400255214

    Publisher: Harper Audio

    Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026

    Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026

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      FICTIONAL SELVES

      A MEMOIR

      In a book that often holds listeners at arm’s length, even as MacLachlan describes his own reticence, it’s a...

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      Audio is the ideal medium for experiencing MacLachlan’s smart, well-written memoir, which he narrates himself—and it’s the only format that’ll allow you to hear MacLachlan’s pitch-perfect impressions of figures like Anthony Hopkins, Ethan Hawke, and, of course, David Lynch, with whom MacLachlan maintained a close creative and personal relationship. A point midway through the audiobook, when MacLachlan describes the time he and Hopkins sat around trading Lynch impressions—and then impersonates Hopkins’ impersonation of Lynch—is a particular high point. As he recounts his well-known roles and occasional missteps, MacLachlan returns often to the idea that actors, especially, maintain multiple selves: There’s the private, interior self, but also the public self who finds his face splashed across billboards—and occasionally, the two find themselves untethered from each other.

      In a book that often holds listeners at arm’s length, even as MacLachlan describes his own reticence, it’s a perfect motif.

      Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026

      Duration: 10 hrs, 32 mins

      DD ISBN: 9798217406883

      Publisher: Random House Audio

      Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2026

      Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026

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