Dying of Politeness

A Memoir

By: Geena Davis

Narrated by: Geena Davis

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

A Times Film and Theatre Book of the Year 2022

From two-time Academy Award winner and screen icon Geena Davis, Dying of Politeness is the candid, surprising tale of her journey from her epically polite childhood to the roles that put her in the spotlight and gave her the strength to become a powerhouse in Hollywood.

At three years old, Geena announced she was going to be in movies. Now, with a slew of iconic roles and awards under her belt, she has surpassed her childhood dream, but her journey has been one of fits and starts, with a pothole or two along the way.

In this hilarious memoir, Geena regales us with tales of a career playing everything from an amnesiac assassin to the parent of a rodent in Stuart Little; a soap star in her underwear to a housewife turned road warrior in Thelma & Louise; a baseball phenomenon in A League of Their Own to the first female President of the United States in Commander in Chief, and more. She is frank about her eccentric childhood; her many relationships, including her spontaneous Las Vegas wedding to Jeff Goldblum; her archery exploits which led her to the Olympic trials; and how she became a tireless advocate for women and girls, founding her own institute which engages film and TV creators to better represent women and actors from diverse backgrounds.

Dying of Politeness is a touching account of one woman’s journey to fight for herself, and ultimately fighting for women all around the globe.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Geena Davis (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

‘Candid, self-deprecating and vastly entertaining…. Davis’s frank appraisal of her psychological and physical merits, and demerits, is not only disarming, but likely to strike a chord with many of her readers’ The Times, Peter Sheridan

‘Her combination of humour and self-deprecation is immediately appealing’ The Observer, BOOK OF THE DAY

‘A marvellous memoir… an endearing and inspiring account of one “offbeat” woman finding her own voice… I’m often bored by the second half of celebrity memoirs, but Davis’s just keeps building momentum. It’s a real-life feel-good movie, in which the downtrodden heroine finds her power. She guards her privacy without ever getting pompous or dull. If you want to know about the pimples on Brad Pitt’s bum, then she’ll spill. If you want to know how she conceived her kids at 47? Back off, that’s her business… I closed her book with the firm conviction that she’s the celebrity I’d most like to hang out with’ Daily Telegraph

A must read for The ADHD community Especially Women

I loved every minute of this book and I love the the very late reveal that Geens was diagnosed very late with ADHD.

I listened to this book at 2.5x the normal speed and this is something that I discovered was a sort of superpower some neurodistinct people posses. I started doing this after reading “Faster Than Normal” and simultaneously discovered that a lot of the world moves too slow for people with ADHD.

It also confirmed why her film “The Long Kiss Goodnight” remained one of the fondest movie memories of my childhood.

Geena Davies is and has always been an amazing human being and we owe her so much with regards to her and her team’s work on female representation.

A hearty read for anyone who is curious about what life looks like through the lenses of uniquely placed but authentic and relatable movie royalty.