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  • Dying of Politeness

  • A Memoir
  • Written by: Geena Davis
  • Narrated by: Geena Davis
  • Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (51 ratings)

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Dying of Politeness

Written by: Geena Davis
Narrated by: Geena Davis
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Publisher's Summary

From two-time Academy Award winner and screen icon Geena Davis, the surprising tale of her “journey to badassery”—from her epically polite childhood to roles that loaned her the strength to become a powerhouse in Hollywood.

At three years old, Geena Davis 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 the path to finding yourself never did run smoothly. In this simultaneously hilarious and candid memoir, Davis regales us with tales of a career playing everything from an amnesiac assassin to the parent of a rodent, her eccentric childhood, her relationships, and helping lead the way to gender parity in Hollywood—all while learning to be a little more bada-s, one role at a time.

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.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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

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What listeners say about Dying of Politeness

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I have always admired Geena

Thank you Geena Davis for writing and narrating your refreshing book! I found it touching and funny and also soothing to listen to. Highly recommended as a balm in this troubled world.

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Beyond boring 😴

Geena is a great actress but a terrible writer. This audiobook suffers from poor pacing and boring bits.

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Wonderfully narrated….

Love this book. I didn’t know anything about Geena Davis and I now have a lot of respect for her. An inspirational life story.

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12/10 Recommend.

Beautifully written and read life story of personal growth, being an unabashed weirdo, finding personal power, and following your interests.
Can’t say enough good things about this book and particularly listening to Geena Davis read it.

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Brilliant

I love Geena’s story and her struggle to be her authentic self. She’s relatable and her insights are spot on. I also admire her tenacity and mission to create a more equitable world, shedding light on the institutionalized misogyny that has defined societal norms for far too long. A great book!

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About a life well lived.....so far!!

Our family Christmas standard movies have included The Long Kiss Goodnight for ....a long time. To watch some truly bad ass behavior during the holidays always sets the tone!! Geena Davis is a gem and I loved hearing about many parts of her complex and interesting life. The narration was topnotch...wink, wink!! She impresses the hell out of me and her movies have left an indelible impression on me and my family. Thank you, Geena.

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Very Interesting and inspiring

I really enjoyed Geena reading this book. Her life has been more than you could ever imagine. I forgot how many great movies she's been in. What a wonderful movement she's started with her foundation.

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Incredible performance and inspiring story

The incomparable Geena Davis doesn’t disappoint with her quick wit, sublime storytelling, and insider look into the world of misogyny she faced building her career in Hollywood. She is an inspiration to us all!

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Love her

She is such an inspiration. And humble yet in my opinion a badass! Lol. We need more women like her

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Loved it

I really enjoyed this book. It was a true and genuine account of Geena’s life and I could relate to many of the relationships and reflections. Very interesting to learn more about the film industry and an actor’s developing career. I highly recommend.

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  • Kimber
  • 2022-10-16

so perfect

This book had me smiling all the way through it. I'm 5 years older than Geena Davis, but at 6'1" tall, I went through a lot of the same kinds of things - including not getting the lead in my 6th grade play because I was too tall for the male lead (I was taller than the teacher as well!). I'm not usually a memoir reader but this one grabbed me and held on. I hope everyone treats themselves to this very relatable, unimaginably authentic, sweet and yes ... very polite (lol!) story. I'm my opinion, Ms. Davis is a serious badass! no question!

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7 people found this helpful

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  • hengstst2
  • 2022-12-18

A new favorite

This w as terrific. In the past year I have begun listening to celebrity memoirs while driving. Loved many of them but this one might be my favorite. It made me smarter. Love Geena’s evolving insight into the woman she is and who she works to be. I have found myself peppering my friends and family with “did you know, Geena Davis once…”. The work she has done with the Women and Girls Research Institute is awesome. The worst part is when an audio book memoir is over, I miss find myself missing my new friend. 😂 keep up the great work bestie!

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  • Robert A Ross
  • 2022-10-16

I hope she make a sequel

I wish it was longer. I've always been a fan and after I seen Tootsie. I remember seeing GD in a lingerie magazine of my sisters with her in it. It was so interesting to see the chronological order of her life and movies. What an amazing book.
I hope she makes a sequel. 🙂

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 2022-10-14

Lovin ya Geena!

We loved this book! Very, very entertaining!
And I'm blown away to know that was your first acting gig!
Thank you!

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  • M Fields
  • 2022-11-04

Loved it!

An important book for women and for standing up for principle. I will remember this book the next time I'm uncomfortable and might let things go when I shouldn't--and then die a little more from politeness. Loved author' s narration and insights.

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  • BeeYourSelf
  • 2022-10-27

speaking of dying of politeness..

I was surprised to see that no one had mentioned the 909878 words we couldn't understand because Geena mumbles through her words so much. I guess everyone was caught up in being "polite". I like Geena Davis, of course otherwise I would have never gotten this book and I understand the desire to want to narrate your own memoir but perhaps this is one of those times someone else should have been hired for that job. The way she slurs her words concerned me. The book overall is pretty good but as Ive already said.. the narration killed it. There are some funny parts but the delivery is so poorly timed and done with so little inflection.. and sometimes literally mumbled that whatever humor there might have been gets lost.

I have two hours left and I am dreading it.

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  • Blake Brown
  • 2022-10-15

thank you for finishing this project

this was a great lesson. at first I was a little annoyed with you I guess for not being stronger. but then it made sense. and you made me cry when your mom died. I lost my mom 40 years ago when I was in my early thirties and they're always with us. thanks for writing this

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  • Alp
  • 2023-04-03

Goofy and delightful

It took me a really long time to read this book because, well, I thought I had already read it. Turns out, I had read a sample, and somehow that had embedded itself as having read the entire book. Geena Davis‘s book is entertaining, delightful, and a wonderful reminder that there are still people out there that are what they seem. Part of Geena Davis’s charm has always been her goofiness mixed with her intelligence. You get that here. Without any snark or meanness she recounts her growing up in New England and her rise in the Hollywood business. You also meet her parents, and get to go on all the adventures she participates in. Her parents play a wonderful part. We see clearly where she came from. I recommend both the book and the audible version. It will leave you liking her more than you thought you could. Of course, thanks to this book, she’s now my go to person when I’m asked who I wanna have lunch with, living or dead yeah, it’s Geena.

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  • Kyle
  • 2023-03-08

Umm

I’ve actually met the author. She’s not dying of politeness. The first Oscar winner I’d ever met, no less. She was rude and dismissed me.

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  • Stephanie Walsh
  • 2022-12-21

Amazing life, and yes, a bad ass.

Amazing drive, amazing accomplishments, and grows her badassery over time. I loved everything about this.

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