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It's a Shame About Ray

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It's a Shame About Ray

By: Jonathan Seidler
Narrated by: David Seidler
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About this listen

It's a Shame About Ray is an extraordinary and powerful memoir about family, love and the power of music.

A young man coming to terms with bipolar disorder suddenly loses his father to suicide. This seismic event prompts an exploration of his family's suppressed history of ill mental health, primarily among men, from the rubble of post-war Europe to present-day Australia. Gliding between the narrator's boyhood, adulthood and impending fatherhood, It's a Shame About Ray lasers in on the family left behind and their response to this ongoing challenge in light of their culture, religion and community.

In the vein of Patricia Lockwood, Dave Eggers, Chuck Klosterman and David Sedaris, It's a Shame About Ray is an extraordinary memoir from writer Jonathan Seidler (yes, those Seidlers). It's an unflinching memoir about men, masculinity and mental health. Filtered through Y2K popular culture, it's a blackly funny and often devastating look at the lasting impact of suicide on families and the complex relationships between sons and fathers suffering from the same illness.

©2022 Jonathan Seidler (P)2022 W. F. Howes Ltd Indigenous Creators Mental Health Awareness Mental Health Health Funny War
All stars
Most relevant  
Very hard to follow Jonathan’s beautifully crafted words …..
An intimate exploration and explanation of a brilliant life and shock of sudden death
Nothing mediocre here
Hope warmth and humanity abounds 🙏

Honest

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There’s something very frank and familiar about the authors way of painting a vivid and personal picture of a story that is at once highly relatable and deeply moving. I think it would not do the book justice to say that I enjoyed it, because my experience as the recipient of the story seems trite in comparison to the profound meaning and resonance of a work with such palpable catharsis for the author. As a debut it is very impressive, and I’m eagerly awaiting the author’s next book. 10/10

Intimate and achingly poignant

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What a writer! Yes a sad story of loss but so much more than that…the dedicated poem at the end was a perfect finalé.

Beautifully tender and unusually honest.

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Such a beautifully written and moving account of a family and man’s journey through mental illness.

Incredibly moving

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There are no answers in this book, but I think that’s the point. A heartfelt tribute to the failures of conventional success and the long term consequences of intergenerational trauma, not to mention stigma and shame.

Tragic at all levels

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.