Book #1 Post #2

 Summary

Putting the Rabbit in the Hat starts off with Brian Cox as a young child and details his rather grim upbringing. Despite being born into a working-class Roman Catholic family in Dundee, Scotland with his mother, father, brother, and three sisters, growing up was anything but easy for Cox. His father—who was a very well-known and well-liked local grocer—was a very generous and kind man, but when Brian was just eight years old, his father died from pancreatic cancer. His mother, who was scarred by five births, several devastating miscarriages, and heartbroken over the loss of her husband, suffered from poor mental health for many years of Brian’s life. When things would get tough, she would often disappear for weeks on end and leave Brian in his older sister’s care. However, in an attempt to escape his horrible reality, Cox discovered something that unknowingly changed his life forever—the theater. The book then describes how his love of theater led him to become the successful actor he is today. After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in 1965, Brian became a highly well-known and prominent figure amongst the UK theater scene. He started landing leading roles in many large productions including Shakespearean dramas. However, once he received an opportunity to work in Hollywood, he decided to leave the UK and his entire world began to change. Upon making it to Los Angeles, Brian began taking on several supporting roles that significantly grew his popularity and recognition. While on this new journey, Brian discusses many of the good relationships he made with other actors that many of us know today, and even some of the bad ones as well. Towards the end of the book, Brian takes a self-reflective approach as not only a father but also as a husband. Although he believes he has failed in many ways, he ultimately believes that his mistakes served as life lessons and have helped him become a better man.

Expectations

This book exceeded my expectations in many ways. Not only was it more humorous than I had imagined, but I also did not expect Brian Cox to be as brutally honest as he was. I was extremely surprised when I read about his criticisms towards Johnny Depp, Michael Caine, and Edward Norton because of how hard it is, especially as an actor, to speak so candidly towards fellow actors due to the bad publicity that could taint their reputation. I was also very surprised by how open he was about his family life and all the struggles he endured as a child. He experienced things no child should ever have to go through, yet he still found a way to make it less depressing and more inspirational for his readers. I got to see many sides of Brian Cox that I did not expect to see, but I am very glad that I did because I now see him in a whole new light.

Final Thoughts

Although this book was a bit of a rollercoaster, I am very glad that I chose to read it. While it mostly followed a timeline that described his youth, career, and adulthood, Brian was not ashamed of sharing interesting stories at inopportune times. Not only were his tangents amusing to read about, but also very inspiring. He let people see a very real and vulnerable side of him that many did not know or expect to read about. And even though he did not have the most fortunate life, his truthfulness and self-reflections inspired me to look at my life from a different point of view. Overall, I think the way Brian Cox wrote and recounted his life in such a lighthearted way perfectly suits his personality and ultimately made the book much more relatable and easier to read. He did not want to cause issues or make people feel bad for him, rather, he wanted to share his story so that he could show people that hard times make people stronger and that dreams can become a reality with a little time and lots of faith.