• Out Came the Sun

  • Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction, and Suicide in My Family
  • By: Mariel Hemingway
  • Narrated by: Mariel Hemingway
  • Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,103 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Out Came the Sun  By  cover art

Out Came the Sun

By: Mariel Hemingway
Narrated by: Mariel Hemingway
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

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

Publisher's summary

A moving, compelling memoir about growing up and escaping the tragic legacy of mental illness, suicide, addiction, and depression in one of America's most famous families: the Hemingways.

She opens her eyes. The room is dark. She hears yelling, smashed plates, and wishes it was all a terrible dream. But it isn't. This is what it was like growing up as a Hemingway. In this deeply moving, searingly honest new memoir, actress and mental health icon Mariel Hemingway shares in candid detail the story of her troubled childhood in a famous family haunted by depression, alcoholism, illness, and suicide. Born just a few months after her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, shot himself, it was Mariel's mission as a girl to escape the desperate cycle of severe mental health issues that had plagued generations of her family. Surrounded by a family tortured by alcoholism (Mariel's parents), depression (her sister, Margaux), suicide (her grandfather and four other members of her family), schizophrenia (her sister, Muffet), and cancer (her mother), it was all the young Mariel could do to keep her head. In a compassionate voice, she reveals her painful struggle to stay sane as the youngest child in her family, coping with the chaos by becoming obsessive about her food, schedule, and organization.

The twisted legacy of her family has never quite let go of Mariel, but in this memoir she opens up about her claustrophobic marriage, her faltering acting career, and her turning to spiritual healers and charlatans for solace. Mariel has ultimately written a story of triumph about learning to overcome her family's demons and developing love and deep compassion for them. At last she can tell the true story of the tragedies and troubles of the Hemingway family, and she delivers an audiobook that beckons comparisons with Mary Karr and Jeanette Walls.

©2015 Mariel Hemingway (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Out Came the Sun

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    590
  • 4 Stars
    305
  • 3 Stars
    144
  • 2 Stars
    43
  • 1 Stars
    21
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    570
  • 4 Stars
    229
  • 3 Stars
    110
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    24
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    523
  • 4 Stars
    269
  • 3 Stars
    115
  • 2 Stars
    40
  • 1 Stars
    20

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

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

Tragically picturesque and makes no apologies

This book was incredibly insightful into the ecosystem of dysfunction within a family affected by alcoholism--but moreover, mental illness. Having been previously afflicted, Mariel effectively disburses the spectrum of potential lifelong challenges of having been a Hemingway survivor. She is fair and humble in telling her personal story, without the mellow dramatics. In my opinion it would have been okay for her to reveal more in her performance. We never get over losing a sibling-whether it be to suicide or Schizoeffective disorder. My experience is in the latter. True presence is felt throughout the book and she paints an excellent
portrait of herself, her family, and of her world in relation to such dysfunction.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Admire the honesty.

I listened to Brook Shields' memoir and was horrified at the lack of insight. Mariel seems to have tried harder at self-analysis. Although, frankly, I strongly believe that all of us pay for the sins of our fathers - for some the pay back is generational. It's a part of life that few are spared. We either spend our lives trying not to turn out like our parents, or we spend them trying to live up to the standards they set for us.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tough Memories Written Well

Life has been tough for Mariel Hemingway. She witnessed unspeakable things growing up and was able to overcome several disorders triggered by her parent's upbringing. I look up to her for the decision to write her story, and for the strength she had to collect to narrate it. "Out Came the Sun" is very well written and I highly recommend it to all.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

chemo saved my life

i was enjoying this until the author stated that chemotherapy kills people. i’m glad immunosuppressant therapy was available for her ex husbands type of cancer, but chemo is not the killer it was when her mom ( or mine) had cancer. for the cancer i had, it saved my life. it also saved my nieces life when she was 8.
a healthy diet and attitude is great in addition to medical treatment - but i’m increasingly irritated by health obsessed celebrities thinking they know more about cancer than they do. the misinformation is what kills. not chemo.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Put Out the Sun

What disappointed you about Out Came the Sun?

There are all kinds of unloving/dysfunctional family situations that bring people to search for healing and the camaraderie of others. This "memoir" promising a story of victory over a legacy of mental illness is more a vehicle to petty and immature criticism of others including her deceased sister, an attack upon those who cannot respond including an insinuation that her father sexually abused her sisters admitting she had no supportive facts. Shameful.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mariel's fascinating story is very well written and she is the best narrator I have ever heard. I will be buying and listening to her other books.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just as real as it gets

Loved this thoughtful and moving account of a true family struggle with dysfunction. Profound, mesmerizing.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I feel understood after reading

I’m grateful to have stumbled upon this book, which is helping me realize that I am not broken or invisible. I felt acknowledged. It comforted me.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

it's not what I expected

I'm sure it was because of my own error in not reading the reviews before I purchased. I was expecting more of a history and a connection to the writer Ernest Hemingway. I was given the personal life story of his granddaughter. I will say even though this was not my preferred type of book to read, I was impressed that the author was also the narrator. I believe that gave it a more Personal Touch

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

perfect story to read over and over.

What made the experience of listening to Out Came the Sun the most enjoyable?

enjoy reading about recovery from drugs of all sorts, esp. over-eating.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mariell because I feel like her sometimes

Which scene was your favorite?

fighting before wedding

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

addictions

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful