Lessons in Becoming Myself cover art

Lessons in Becoming Myself

Preview

Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 21, 2025 at 11:59PM ET.
Prime logo Amazon Prime member exclusive: get any 2 titles with your free trial. Terms apply.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Lessons in Becoming Myself

Written by: Ellen Burstyn
Narrated by: Ellen Burstyn
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends January 21, 2025 11:59PM ET. Cancel anytime.

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $23.31

Buy Now for $23.31

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Ellen Burstyn has always defied expectations. Born in Detroit during the Depression, she left home at 18 and became a model for J. L. Hudson, Detroit's largest department store. After a failed marriage and a string of unsatisfying relationships and jobs, Burstyn settled in New York, where she began her career as an actress. Her first audition landed her the lead in a Broadway play, with the show's producer, legendary playwright and director Moss Hart, telling her, "You're natural."

After Burstyn reluctantly moved to Los Angeles with her second husband, she eventually turned to film, delivering brilliant performances in The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress), Same Time, Next Year, Resurrection, and Requiem for a Dream.

Burstyn describes the personal missteps, toxic relationships, and private demons she has battled, and how confronting them prompted her to find a different life path. Raised a Catholic, she has traveled the world exploring a range of spiritual experiences. From the Swiss Alps to Cambodia, from the Himalayas to the streets of New York, she has sought and found answers to life's most puzzling questions.

Lessons in Becoming Myself is the extraordinary story of her quest for the examined life. By turns tragic and funny, thoughtful and lighthearted, it is a brilliant accomplishment by one of the finest observers of human nature.

©2006 Matrix Movies, Inc. (f/s/o Ellen Burstyn) (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved
Entertainment & Celebrities Women Celebrity Marriage Inspiring Detroit New York Funny
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What the critics say

"I deeply admire Ellen Burstyn's...urgency...[in] pursuing enlightenment. An extremely moving story of a fully lived life." (Toni Morrison)

"Candid and unassuming, Burstyn's intuitive memoir is a balanced mix of insider theatrical anecdotes and inspired philosophical revelations, a guileless apologia for one woman's desire to authenticate her experiences, professional and personal." (Booklist)

What listeners say about Lessons in Becoming Myself

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible story and life!

I absolutely loved Ellen’s autobiography. She is so generous with the details of her life and I couldn’t stop listening. This book is a gift from a truly beautiful human being who has so much wisdom to share. She doesn’t hold anything back. She shares the light and the dark parts of her life. Her life is her art. I’m very grateful for this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!