From his opening line—”Well, shit, how y'all doing?”—Leslie Jordan brings his sparkling energy and humor to the narration of his memoir. The Tennessee native, who starred in television's “Will & Grace” and “American Horror Story,” has of late achieved a loyal social media following after going viral (a status he didn't even know the meaning of until it happened) on Instagram. Jordan narrates in his trademark Southern accent, with a delightfully whimsical and flamboyant touch. His colorful narration dovetails with his colorful life, which is on full display, from growing up gay in a Southern Baptist family in a conservative area to his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse and his later sobriety and successful career in the performing arts.
Pub Date: April 27, 2021
Duration: 4 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063076228
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Cox delivers both the searing pain and deep beauty imbued in her life journey.
The cudgel of gender conformity has never felt more visceral and brutal, more omnipresent and inescapable than in actor and activist Cox’s spellbinding memoir. Listeners will not be left unchanged by Cox’s courage in speaking her whole truth for the very first time. As narrator, Cox’s voice sometimes sounds armored, because this isn't Cox the performer, but Cox as a fiercely analytical intellectual as she examines how her life story embodies the intersection of gender, race, colonization, and patriarchy. Yes, listeners will hear about her fun rise to fame, which included working with film idols like Jodie Foster, but it is her relationship with the work of feminist icon and scholar bell hooks that informs the backbone of this intelligent, remarkable memoir.
Cox delivers both the searing pain and deep beauty imbued in her life journey.Pub Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668135860
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
Honest, heartfelt recollections make this performance feel like catching up with a close friend on the phone.
The best narrator for O'Connell's unique mixture of humor and drama is, fittingly, O'Connell himself. In his essay collection, O'Connell discusses every facet of his life as a gay man with cerebral palsy, from his former reliance on alcohol and drugs to his struggle finding a sexual partner, experience in an open relationship, his exercise journey, and his Hollywood success. Listeners will find themselves laughing alongside O'Connell as he candidly recalls—with contagious cackles—his time as an addict in denial and his decade-long dry spell. O'Connell's narration is passionate, whether he’s recounting a heartbreaking story of childhood trauma or sharing a laugh-out-loud joke.
Honest, heartfelt recollections make this performance feel like catching up with a close friend on the phone.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250457127
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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