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Life's Work
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Michael Harney, David Milch
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
The creator of Deadwood and NYPD Blue reflects on his tumultuous life, driven by a nearly insatiable creative energy and a matching penchant for self-destruction. Life’s Work is a profound memoir from a brilliant mind taking stock as Alzheimer’s loosens his hold on his own past.
“This is David Milch’s farewell, and it will rock you.”—Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews
“I’m on a boat sailing to some island where I don’t know anybody. A boat someone is operating and we aren’t in touch.” So begins David Milch’s urgent accounting of his increasingly strange present and often painful past. From the start, Milch’s life seems destined to echo that of his father, a successful if drug-addicted surgeon. Almost every achievement is accompanied by an act of self-immolation, but the deepest sadnesses also contain moments of grace.
Betting on racehorses and stealing booze at eight years old, mentored by Robert Penn Warren and excoriated by Richard Yates at twenty-one, Milch never did anything by half. He got into Yale Law School only to be expelled for shooting out streetlights with a shotgun. He paused his studies at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop to manufacture acid in Cuernavaca. He created and wrote some of the most lauded television series of all time, made a family, and pursued sobriety, then lost his fortune betting horses just as his father had taught him.
Like Milch’s best screenwriting, Life’s Work explores how chance encounters, self-deception, and luck shape the people we become, and wrestles with what it means to have felt and caused pain, even and especially with those we love, and how you keep living. It is both a master class on Milch’s unique creative process, and a distinctive, revelatory memoir from one of the great American writers, in what may be his final dispatch to us all.
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Critic reviews
“Life’s Work is one of the best books about television I’ve read. It’s funny, discursive, literate, druggy, self-absorbed, fidgety, replete with intense perceptions. . . . You finish feeling you’ve really met someone. Milch was his own best creation.”—The New York Times
“David Milch’s memoir is a heartrending cry from the horizon line of consciousness, a hilarious yarn of the truth-telling variety, and a brutal case history of addiction and self-destruction, written in the most gorgeously humane voice I’ve encountered in a work of nonfiction in a long while. I can think of few recent books that have pulsed with life this transparently, this powerfully.”—Rick Moody, author of The Ice Storm
“Like the best memoirs, Life’s Work is intimate, exquisitely observed, and intense. But unlike most—and what sets it apart—is the heartbreak it embodies, the finality it signals. This is David Milch’s farewell, and it will rock you.”—Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief
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Robert Altman - visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend - comes roaring to life in this rollicking cinematic biography, told in a chorus of voices that can only be called Altmanesque.
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Enthralling!
- By Wise & Careful Shopper on 10-17-10
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
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Father Fiction
- Chapters for a Fatherless Generation
- By: Donald Miller
- Narrated by: Kelly Ryan Dolan
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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A memoir with a message, this audiobook shares the angst of a boy growing up without a father and how he found his way.
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Should make it clear this is a religious book
- By Victoria on 05-10-19
By: Donald Miller
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Pieces of My Heart
- A Life
- By: Robert J. Wagner
- Narrated by: Robert J. Wagner
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Abridged
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Robert J. Wagner has starred in more than 100 films and television series over the past 50 years. In this deeply personal story, he recalls his rise to stardom. He talks candidly about his relationships with some of the greatest stars of the 20th century, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, and, for the first time, he shares the details of his two marriages to Natalie Wood. Wagner also offers a fascinating look at Hollywood during the last half of the 20th century.
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Wagner's life, told in a gracious manner
- By Chris on 12-18-08
By: Robert J. Wagner
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Dirty Daddy
- The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian
- By: Bob Saget
- Narrated by: Bob Saget
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Millions of viewers know and love Bob Saget from his role as the sweetly neurotic father on the smash hit Full House, and as the charming wisecracking host of America's Funniest Home Videos. And then there are the legions of fans who can't get enough of his scatological, out-of-his-mind stand-up routines, comedy specials, and outrageously profane performances in such shows as HBO's Entourage and the hit documentary The Aristocrats.
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Meh to the 2nd Power
- By Hilary on 06-30-14
By: Bob Saget
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This Is Your Captain Speaking
- My Fantastic Voyage through Hollywood, Faith, and Life
- By: Gavin MacLeod
- Narrated by: Gavin MacLeod
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The remarkable life, career, and faith journey of the star of The Love Boat and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. For 16 years, millions of Americans welcomed Gavin MacLeod into their living rooms every Saturday night. This veteran of stage and screen transformed himself from a seasoned character actor into the leading, lovable father-figure of The Love Boat at the height of TV's boom years. For more than 30 years, Gavin MacLeod has served as the global ambassador for Princess Cruises.
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Get to know Gavin as a person, not the actor
- By Don Lance on 11-16-13
By: Gavin MacLeod
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Robin Williams
- By: Emily Herbert
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Through roles in cherished films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Aladdin and Hook, he became the genial face of family comedy. His childlike enthusiasm was infectious, sweeping viewers away. Allied to his lightning-quick improvisation and ability to riff lewdly off any cue thrown at him, Robin was that rare thing - a true comic genius who appealed to adults and children equally. He could also play it straight, and empathetic depth came to him naturally.
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Good... but too many quotes
- By DDub on 11-09-18
By: Emily Herbert
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Take Me Home
- An Autobiography
- By: John Denver
- Narrated by: John Denver
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
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In a career that spanned decades, John Denver earned international acclaim as a singer, songwriter, actor, and environmental activist. Songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", and "Annie's Song" have entered the canon of universal anthems, but at his start John Denver was a young man with little more than a fine voice, a guitar, and a dream. Growing up in a conservative military family, he was not expected to drop out of college and head to Los Angeles, where the music scene was flourishing. Nor was he expected to succeed.
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Loved hearing John Denver telling his story
- By Brenda M. on 02-03-17
By: John Denver
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George Anderson's Lessons from the Light
- Extraordinary Messages of Comfort and Hope from the Other Side
- By: George Anderson, Andrew Barone
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In his years working with bereaved families to communicate with lost loved ones, George Anderson has earned an international reputation for his astonishing abilities. Now, for the first time, Anderson offers a vivid and intimate account of his spiritual communications. He explains what it's like to be a psychic, what he experiences, and what it means. He directly answers the many questions most commonly asked of him.
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Absolutely LOVED this book!!!
- By Tasha on 06-13-19
By: George Anderson, and others
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The Chris Farley Show
- A Biography in Three Acts
- By: Tom Farley, Tanner Colby
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer, L. J. Ganser, Mark Boyett
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The New York Times best-selling biography of an American comedy legend. After three years of sobriety, Chris Farley's life was at its creative peak until a string of professional disappointments chased him back to drugs and alcohol. He fought hard against them, but it was a fight he would lose in December 1997. Farley's fans immediately drew parallels between his death and that of his idol, John Belushi. Without looking deeper, however, many failed to see that Farley was much more than just another Hollywood drug overdose. In this officially authorized oral history, Farley's friends and family remember his work and life.
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Incredibly sad....
- By Marie B on 04-12-15
By: Tom Farley, and others
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Everything Happens for a Reason
- Finding the True Meaning of the Events in Our Lives
- By: Mira Kirshenbaum
- Narrated by: Kitty Hendrix
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In each of our lives we are faced with events that seem inexplicable, unjust, even cruel - events that can shatter our perception of the world, our understanding of ourselves, and our faith in a higher power. Friends and family members often offer comfort with "Everything happens for a reason" - a simple, common phrase with an unbearably elusive meaning. In Everything Happens for a Reason, psychotherapist Mira Kirshenbaum helps us understand the principles behind this frequently used phrase and provides us with tools to grasp its true meaning.
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Excellent!!!! Listened to it 3X
- By TTR on 06-19-24
By: Mira Kirshenbaum
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I'll Never Change My Name
- An Immigrant's American Dream from Ukraine to the USA to Dancing with the Stars
- By: Valentin Chmerkovskiy
- Narrated by: Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Maks Chmerkovskiy
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Valentin Chmerkovskiy, the world championship-winning and beloved Dancing with the Stars ballroom dancer invites fans into his life as never before, sharing the experiences, including the failures and successes, that have shaped him, from his early childhood in Ukraine to growing up as an immigrant in the US to his rise to international fame.
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A Must for Dancing with the Stars fans
- By Rana I O on 03-10-18
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Big Magic
- Creative Living Beyond Fear
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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People of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear.
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Biggest Inspiration In a Long Time
- By Gillian on 09-23-15
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The Todd Glass Situation
- A Bunch of Lies about My Personal Life and a Bunch of True Stories about My 30-Year Career in Standup Comedy
- By: Todd Glass, Jonathan Grotenstein
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up in a Philadelphia suburb in the 1970s was an easy life. Well, easy as long as you didn't have dyslexia or ADD, or were a Jew. And once you added gay into the mix, life became more difficult. So Todd Glass decided to hide the gay part, no matter how comic, tragic, or comically tragic the results. Now, Todd has written an open, honest, and hilarious memoir in an effort to help everyone - young and old, gay and straight - breathe a little more freely.
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Worth It
- By Heather on 11-17-14
By: Todd Glass, and others
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I'm Walking as Straight as I Can
- Transcending Disability in Hollywood and Beyond
- By: Ted Nichelson, Geri Jewell
- Narrated by: Geri Jewell
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Born with cerebral palsy, Geri Jewell inspired a generation of young people when she became the first person with a disability to appear in a recurring role on prime-time television, with her groundbreaking character, Cousin Geri, on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. The book's title - I’m Walking As Straight As I Can - has a double meaning, referring to both Jewell's sexuality and her extraordinary struggle growing up with cerebral palsy.
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Excellent! I recommend!
- By Sharlotte on 06-06-16
By: Ted Nichelson, and others
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The Good Dad
- Becoming the Father You Were Meant to Be
- By: Jim Daly
- Narrated by: Jim Daly
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, is an expert in fatherhood - in part because his own 'fathers' failed him so badly. His biological dad was an alcoholic. His stepfather deserted him. His foster father accused Jim of trying to kill him. All were out of Jim's life by the time he turned 13. Isn't it odd - and reminiscent of the hand of God - that the director of the leading organization on family turned out to be a guy whose own background as a kid and son were pretty messed up?
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great read for new or old parents.
- By Amazon Customer on 01-14-15
By: Jim Daly
What listeners say about Life's Work
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Marie-Clare Prisco
- 10-10-22
Loved Getting to Know Milch
I have admired David Milch’s work, and I am always curious about writers and what drives and inspires them. This book does not disappoint. Written in the familiar Milch narrative voice, this memoir reads like a monologue from the most gifted of playwrights. And the reader, Michael Harney, was perfectly cast! Almost sounded like Swearengen himself. Enjoy!
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- Martin
- 11-20-22
Being there.
If you had the fortunate experience of working for the man, this revisitation to his singular expressive consciousness and process of storytelling is like being back in a
trailer or soundstage at Deadwood, listening to him reveal and illuminate the drama of the scene at hand, rapt in the journey upon which he is taking us.
The further sharing of his personal life and struggles especially the contribution of his wife, Rita give a keen emotional context to this self summation of a true artist.
Thank you, David.
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- JT
- 02-04-23
reader
great reader. bxc go do j c b
r y v co b can m m m.
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- Matthew
- 12-17-22
A valuable testament
This book is as good a thing as we are lucky enough to receive. Thank you David.
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- Colin
- 01-03-23
Harrowing and revelatory
Great reader makes this. Deep insights into writing and life that can at times be a self sabotaging mess to a degree that it is unsettling, but also more honest and less performative than many memoirs.
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- Sarabellum
- 12-23-22
Buffalo Boy’s Brave Truth
Wow! Proof again that we don’t know what another family is like until we are someone inside draws the curtain.
Like all the girls at school #64, I had a wild crush on Judgie and was shocked by his death. I remember well my father extolling the other “Milch Boy,” favored son of his friend and colleague, Elmer. This painfully honest book show how blind we are to the trauma children face. I kept asking, “Where were the adults who could have intervened. It takes a lot to stand up for children of powerful people. I hope today that the other adults in the lives of emotionally abused children such as Milch and Judgie find a way to protect them.
Milch has my deepest admiration for telling his truth as does his family for their help. It can’t have been easy on anyone.
His is a riveting story well written and read. My only wish is that the narrator’s accent were more Buffalo than Brooklyn. A small point.
Linda Safran
Class of 1960 P.S. 64, Buffalo
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- Angelo Pizzo
- 05-23-23
Extraordinary
One of the best memoirs I’ve ever listened to. Great narrator who sounds a lot like Milch. One doesn’t have to be in the entertainment business or even haven’t seen any of his shows to appreciate this work.
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- Mike
- 01-13-23
Amazing life of an absolutely amazing figure
This was an incredibly vulnerable and highly detailed look back on the life of a modern literary and cinematic genius, David Milch. Milch is the creator of NYPD Blue and Deadwood, among many other projects. He has, for nearly the past decade, been living with dementia after a life filled with incredible stories both lived and those that he dreamt. This book was written by him with the help of his family, who have been along for the ride with a man whose incredible charisma and skill has kept him in the good graces of the incredibly generous and caring individuals his vices regularly harmed. In spite of himself, he’s managed to maintain this undeniable sphere of family and friends who love him for the mind, ironically the thing which causes himself so much pain.
He is no stranger to revealing his disappointments in himself, but he also goes into what makes him tick and sheds light on lessons I think any adult could find value in, but especially those of us in our mid 20s and older. The reflections on his personal growth and philosophy on life in general are interwoven with reflections on his writing process, his time in Hollywood, the inspirations for his TV projects, and much more. Quite a hard listen at points due to the incredible emotional resonance of hearing a man’s self-aware thoughts on his own dementia, but quite reassuring at the same time in that there is a quality of “a life fully lived,” which Milch truly embodies in spite of it all.
I’ve been moved by a book like this one before, Christopher Hitchens’ book Mortality, which is the author’s thoughts on his death as he is contemplating it while dealing with the practical realities of a terminal cancer diagnosis. Unlike that one, but this book is much more a celebration of Milch’s whole life and starts in childhood rather than only focusing on the end. Further, this is about a man losing his mind and knowing it more than a man dying with his capacities intact, so take that for what you will.
There are some laugh out loud moments, it’s poignant, incredibly candid, and a truly beautiful work from someone whose writing on Deadwood has impacted my own life with some of the lessons it imparts from character to character, and to the viewers by extension. To quote perhaps his most quotable character of all his work, Al Swearengen, “Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair, or f-cking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back.”
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- Nancy L. Park
- 09-20-22
Inspiring, intimidating, heartbreaking
I am left not knowing where to put my feelings. The word BIG kept coming up for me as I listened. He lived his life so BIG...out at the edges, pushing. And I'm left feeling challenged to ask more of myself and life. Being familiar with most of the TV productions, it was fun to hear how he saw the characters and being reminded of how I loved those stories. Made we want to jump on the Firestick and settle in to re-watch. What a gift he's given all of us and this book is yet another. Beautifully written and beautifully read. I can only say THANK YOU.
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- David Akey
- 12-21-22
Amazing
Harney(Steve to you, you cocksucker) absolutely completes this work. Quite the Life’s Work indeed.
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