Too Much

the hilarious, heartfelt memoir

By: Tom Allen

Narrated by: Tom Allen

'An extraordinary portrait of a son navigating his way through grief and loss in real time. Funny, candid, and measured' GRAHAM NORTON

Happily settled in a new relationship and with a dream house of his own, comedian Tom Allen had finally moved on from the arrested development of millennial life and could at last call himself an adult.

But when his father died suddenly in late 2021, Tom's newfound independence was rocked by a fresh set of challenges, and he began to find solace in the past (and his new vegetable patch). Told through snapshots from Tom's busy life - whether reflecting on the campness of funeral customs, muddy lockdown walks in unsuitable footwear or just reminiscing on his childhood obsession with Patricia Routledge - Too Much is a hilarious joyride of stories as well as an emotional ode to Tom's beloved dad, and a touching manifesto on how to navigate the complexities of grief.

With moving honesty and wit, Tom writes beautifully about those days, weeks and months following his family's loss, and about how bewildering the practicalities of life can be in the wake of an upheaval - those moments, really, when everything can start to feel a bit too much...

'Hilarious and poignant' JO BRAND©2022 Tom Allen

Critic reviews

An extraordinary portrait of a son navigating his way through grief and loss in real time. Funny, candid, and measured (Graham Norton)

Hilarious and poignant (Jo Brand)

Hilarious and at times heart-breaking

Tom Allen paints a moving portrait of his father and their relationship . . . Heartfelt, vulnerable and touchingly sincere

Explores the complexity of grief and charts a belated independence

Life-affirming

Wonderful and poignant

Read very well by the author - it’s a wonderful account of parts of Tom’s life, split into aspects of his relationship with his late father, as Tom works through his grief. Really relatable - grief is messy, funny, frustrating, weird, and brings a new perspective.

A love story

Tom Allen’s love letter to a father who loved his family. Tom writes about how Hill the memory of his father has been found in every action, in every thought. Simply beautiful.

Bromley for life!

I think Tom writes a bit like David Sedaris, but instead of referencing beautiful homes on the East coast of America, eating lox…Tom’s all about a Bakewell tart in Penge… and because I live in Anerley it’s really much more up my street… literally.

This was such a lovely book, Tom is hilarious, heartfelt and heartbreaking with complex thoughts and feelings vibrating off the page.

The relationship with his Dad is tender and it made me think of my own family and the importance of togetherness and connection whilst we still have the chance.

Overall, it just brought me so much joy.

Parallels to my life

Brilliant and so heart warming Tom brings warmth candeur and pathos to a difficult subject, oh and just a smidgeon of camp.

What a lovely book

Tom Allen is a witty, relatable storyteller and this is a lovely homage to his dad. With all the stories out there about abusive fathers and narcissist mothers, it's absolutely wonderful to hear about a couple who truly love their children.