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It's a Shame About Ray
- Narrated by: David Seidler
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
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It's a Shame About Ray
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Publisher's Summary
It's a Shame About Ray is an extraordinary and powerful memoir about family, love and the power of music.
A young man coming to terms with bipolar disorder suddenly loses his father to suicide. This seismic event prompts an exploration of his family's suppressed history of ill mental health, primarily among men, from the rubble of post-war Europe to present-day Australia. Gliding between the narrator's boyhood, adulthood and impending fatherhood, It's a Shame About Ray lasers in on the family left behind and their response to this ongoing challenge in light of their culture, religion and community.
In the vein of Patricia Lockwood, Dave Eggers, Chuck Klosterman and David Sedaris, It's a Shame About Ray is an extraordinary memoir from writer Jonathan Seidler (yes, those Seidlers). It's an unflinching memoir about men, masculinity and mental health. Filtered through Y2K popular culture, it's a blackly funny and often devastating look at the lasting impact of suicide on families and the complex relationships between sons and fathers suffering from the same illness.
What listeners say about It's a Shame About Ray
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-04-2023
Honest
Very hard to follow Jonathan’s beautifully crafted words …..
An intimate exploration and explanation of a brilliant life and shock of sudden death
Nothing mediocre here
Hope warmth and humanity abounds 🙏
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-12-2023
Intimate and achingly poignant
There’s something very frank and familiar about the authors way of painting a vivid and personal picture of a story that is at once highly relatable and deeply moving. I think it would not do the book justice to say that I enjoyed it, because my experience as the recipient of the story seems trite in comparison to the profound meaning and resonance of a work with such palpable catharsis for the author. As a debut it is very impressive, and I’m eagerly awaiting the author’s next book. 10/10
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-10-2023
Beautifully tender and unusually honest.
What a writer! Yes a sad story of loss but so much more than that…the dedicated poem at the end was a perfect finalé.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Luke Johnson
- 31-12-2023
Tragic at all levels
There are no answers in this book, but I think that’s the point. A heartfelt tribute to the failures of conventional success and the long term consequences of intergenerational trauma, not to mention stigma and shame.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jessica Tange
- 16-08-2023
Incredibly moving
Such a beautifully written and moving account of a family and man’s journey through mental illness.
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