Managing Expectations

A Memoir in Essays

By: Minnie Driver

Narrated by: Minnie Driver

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A charming, poignant, and mesmerizing memoir in essays from beloved actor and natural-born storyteller Minnie Driver, chronicling the way life works out even when it doesn’t.

In this intimate, beautifully crafted collection, Driver writes and narrates with disarming charm and candor about her bohemian upbringing between England and Barbados; her post-university travails and triumphs—from being the only student in her acting school not taken on by an agent to being discovered at a rave in a muddy field in the English countryside; shooting to fame in one of the most influential films of the 1990s and being nominated for an Academy Award; and finding the true light of her life, her son. She chronicles her unconventional career path, including the time she gave up on acting to sell jeans in Uruguay, her journey as a single parent, and the heartbreaking loss of her mother.

Like Lena Dunham in Not That Kind of Girl, Gabrielle Union in We’re Going to Need More Wine and Patti Smith in Just Kids, Driver writes with razor-sharp humor and grace as she explores navigating the depths of failure, fighting for success, discovering the unmatched wonder and challenge of motherhood, and wading through immeasurable grief. Effortlessly charming, deeply funny, personal, and honest, Managing Expectations reminds us of the way life works out—even when it doesn’t.

Also included at the end of this audiobook is a conversation between Minnie Driver her friend Emma Forrest.

©2022 Minnie Driver (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Brilliant

Sweet jeebus, what can’t this woman do? She acts, she sings, she can write - all so beautifully. I loved this book, and am looking forward to more.

Brilliantly expressive ~ like watching a play

I usually dig in a bit to see whether or not a book will interest me, but I immediately clicked purchase. I am so glad I did.

Obviously, listening to Minnie narrate her own book was a pleasure. Her voice is a melody of character, wit, sarcasm and sincerity. I literally felt like I was listening to a play that was being acted out. Her ability to keep the listener captivated with a story line is unmatched. It was as though I was watching her have the conversations and she would subtly change her voice to reflect the person she was having the conversation with. From this side, Minnie's execution seemed effortless and it was incredibly easy to visualize each of her essays. I have listened to hundreds of audio books and I have never enjoyed the narration of a book as much as I did this one. For example, Minnie's ability to bring you into the space with her memories as though they were happening in real time was incredible. So much so that I was actually sad when she grew up because I missed the feisty, head strong, messy haired 9 year old that I had come to root for and admire.

I lost my mom to lung cancer on December 11, 2021. The way Minnie described the week leading up to her mothers death, the emotions, the world around her, and the overall experience made me feel less alone in my grief. I kept thinking, "Exactly. That is exactly it." She was able to put into words what had only previously been feelings that I could not express.

This book now holds a place in my favorites for sure. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you Minnie...all ages and stages. Thank you for sharing your essays and allowing us the opportunity to learn a little bit about ourselves and to appreciate our own journey...even the potholes.

What a treat!

Ms Driver has such a lovely voice and engaging delivery and is, of course, the perfect person to have narrated? read out loud? this wonderful memoir. I laughed and welled up and gasped and grinned, all the way through with her; and then mourned for her at the last (with slight jealously that she had such a beautiful mother to mourn). Her discussion with Ms Forrest at the end is the treat. I love the idea that a scent requires a tiny note of some foul smelling ingredient to be beautiful - I was always taught that a spelling mistake in the last paragraph ruined what would otherwise have been an excellent essay; that it was like eating a wonderful broccoli soup only to get to the bottom and find a maggot sitting at the bottom of the bowl, such that the enjoyment of the whole was ruined by the last spoonful. I much prefer Ms Churchward’s perspective.

Not your average Hollywood memoir

Candid, funny and eloquent. Sometimes actors memoirs feel scripted and sanitized. This book brought you into Ms.Drivers life, lumps and all. A true tale of pushing through the ick we have in life and celebrating what we have on the other side. Absolutely loved it!

Heartfelt, funny, poignant, insightful exclamation

I read a good number of autobiographies and biographies of creative people. Some are great, some not so much. This one was outstanding. The Hollywood memoirs are the least interesting, but this one it’s not about who she slept with, but the lessons she learned in life and how her childhood Informed the rest of her life.
She’s very honest about her eccentricities. Part of the reason I think it’s so well written is that she is a reader herself she knows what it takes to make her book interesting.

I usually don’t enjoy when the author serves as the narrator. biography sometimes are an exception I think, because Minnie driver can laugh at her self, and is not embarrassed to tell the truth this one works.

Intelligent and beautidul

Love her voice, her choice of words, her brain, and the stories she decided to share. It feels like such a gift when someone who we think we know so well from after chooses to tell us who they really are. Well done.

Captivating

You immediately become engrossed in Minnie Driver’s stories. It was such a treat that she was the narrator, because it gave such depth and authenticity to her experiences. It felt she was having a direct conversation with me. I love that she was so transparent and candid about her life. Her humor, heartbreak, and introspection were shared without being sappy too lofty to be relatable.

I absolutely loved the book and highly recommend it.

A really entertaining listen!

Minnie Driver is a wonderfully intelligent and insightful writer; and she shares her life story with color and candor—even when it reveals her own vulnerability and insecurities. And I love listening to her own rich, resonant voice!

amazing

she has a profoundly poetic mind and her word choice and phrasing is, as her fiend ‘Em says, gorgeous. love this book and looks forward to the next!

Witty and Entertaining

I loved listening to Minnie's stories. I can't imagine anyone else as the narrator. I am always impressed when an author can tell a story so vividly many years later. The listener gets a quick snapshot of who this woman is through her stories. I think she did a great job as a young Minnie, always questioning her purpose and wondering why we behave as we do, ourselves and others. She challenged the "norm" whatever it was at the time. Always wondering. . . questioning. I suppose she inherited her profound curiosity from her mother. As humans, we continue to evolve - the answers to our questions seem to change over time. Some of her stories made me laugh out loud, and other times, made me tear up. The title caught my attention, and I was hooked from the first chapter. Thank you Minnie for sharing so many of your stories. A very enjoyable listen!