A Life in Parts

A Life in Parts

A memoir and meditation on creativity by the star of "Breaking Bad" chronicles his theatrical childhood and recommitment to acting in the aftermath of his father's disappearance, describing his early acting jobs and the performances that earned him Tony and Emmy Awards.
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Reviews

Photo of Patrick Book
Patrick Book@patrickb
4 stars
Jul 5, 2024

I love you, Bryan Cranston!

Photo of Jeffrey Jose
Jeffrey Jose@jeffjose
5 stars
Oct 17, 2023

An honest account of Bryan's life so far.

Photo of Wynter
Wynter@wynter
4 stars
May 4, 2023

I had to wait to read this memoir until now, because at the time of its release I was deep into Breaking Bad, and I wasn't about to spoil for myself one of the best written series on television. And it's a good thing, because Bryan does give away some key parts of the show. Be warned: if you still haven't watched/finished Breaking Bad... what are you waiting for? It's amazing! Go binge through all five seasons, then pick up A Life in Parts. I really have nothing bad say about Bryan Cranston's book. It's well-written; it contains a good balance of humorous and dramatic stories; it feels genuine and personal. You see the actor grow from a typical kid into an outstanding television star. He nurtured his dreams of movies and took measured steps towards his goals, which was a much better approach than a lot of Hollywood hopefuls, including his father, usually choose. His confidence in his craft bloomed with years, so it was fascinating to read how eventually Bryan had the courage to assert himself on set and offer creative direction for numerous scenes. I've never known how much power actors have over what's happening around them, and it was fun learning something new.

Photo of Mohammed Moussa
Mohammed Moussa@redpirate90
5 stars
Sep 20, 2022

A look into the life of the great actor Bryan Cranston. an intimate book with a lot of personal experience, you don't have to be a Breaking Bad fan to enjoy this book, you only need to be interested in reading and you'll definitely enjoy this man story.

Photo of Mirella Hetekivi
Mirella Hetekivi@euphoricdopamine
5 stars
May 24, 2022

Fantastic. Just fantastic.

Photo of Kaitee Tredway
Kaitee Tredway@kaiteeyaeko
5 stars
Dec 17, 2021

Bryan Cranston's narration is excellent, and as a performer, I so appreciated his generosity in sharing insights into the profession. This book furthers my belief that we're all after telling a good story. Also, this book made me laugh out loud at certain sections. All in all, an excellent autobiography/personal essay.

Photo of Alexia
Alexia@apolasky
4 stars
Dec 17, 2021

A personal and relatable autobiography about Cranston's life and struggles and the way he grew from a rebel kid in an unstable family into a successful actor. The key to his success in life? Perseverance and hard work. Thank you Netgalley and Scribner for the ARC! Full review on my blog. Una autobiografía muy completa acerca de la vida de Cranston y de cómo un niño rebelde de una familia inestable logró llegar al estrellato. ¿Cuál es su secreto? Perseverancia y dedicación. Reseña completa en mi blog.

Photo of Swasti Ramadhin
Swasti Ramadhin@swasje
5 stars
Nov 9, 2021

A fun and quick read. Gives you a good look into the experiences that made him the person and the talented actor he is today.

Photo of Hope Lenzen
Hope Lenzen@hopelenzen
5 stars
Oct 5, 2021

This mans life is an adventure. I picked up this book because I was bored and it was the closest thing to me that I hadn't read. I'm so glad I did. Reading about what Bryan went through on his journey to where he is now makes anything seem possible if you want it hard enough. And that's inspiring. I loved him as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. I never watched Breaking Bad but I respected his talent in playing such a complex character and now I love the man behind both.

Photo of Eylon gil
Eylon gil@roxan
5 stars
Aug 6, 2024
Photo of Lin
Lin@llin
3.5 stars
Jul 28, 2024
Photo of Jordan
Jordan@jordanfischerr
4 stars
May 28, 2024
Photo of Jannis M
Jannis M@jmm
3 stars
Jun 13, 2023
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Barbara@brubru
4 stars
May 7, 2023
Photo of João Araújo
João Araújo@gvns
5 stars
Apr 3, 2023
Photo of Sam
Sam@houndddd
4 stars
Feb 21, 2023
Photo of Jantien
Jantien @joan_illusion
5 stars
Dec 22, 2022
Photo of Claire Knight
Claire Knight@krider2010
5 stars
May 23, 2022
Photo of Natalia Bradley
Natalia Bradley@nataliabradley
5 stars
Mar 17, 2022
Photo of Vince Fabella
Vince Fabella@vfabella
5 stars
Feb 9, 2022
Photo of Sun Pezzimenti
Sun Pezzimenti @sunpezz
4 stars
Dec 25, 2021
Photo of Trish
Trish @trishbovell
4 stars
Nov 23, 2021
Photo of Heather Overstreet
Heather Overstreet @Hlhayes7
3 stars
Oct 28, 2021
Photo of Andrew Molina
Andrew Molina@momoprobs
4 stars
Sep 17, 2021

Highlights

Photo of Eylon gil
Eylon gil@roxan

That may sound harsh but after Ava and the suicide man
I started to feel an urgency and wanted to surround myself with people who lifted me up. james did, and he taught me a lot, and he was fun, he would try anything, he was risk oriented,

Page 131

surrounding yourself with people who lift you

Photo of Eylon gil
Eylon gil@roxan

Lets not get married, i want something other than what you want. she nodded sadly, she knew if either of us had been honest we would have gone our separate ways much earlier.
she was a sweetheart. no arguing. no bitterness. we were just mismatched.
Once we both confessed a sense of relief washed over us. and we became closer than we had in our two years of marriage. even when she moved back home to the panhandle of florid, we would talk on the phone. an hour, once a week. giving each other support and friendship. she soon flipped back into her southern accent and six months later she was married. mickey gor pregrent so quickly, suddenly she had a big family, she got what she wanted I was happy for her.
We lost touch over the years. naturally, we both moved on.then i was promoting a film in florida several years ago and mickey saw the interview and called the station. when i called a man with a deep voice answered the phone. it was her son, a grown man, id forgotten how many years had passed. and than mickey got on the phone, we chatted briefly, pleasantly, we were old friends but when we said goodby it felt finale, we were just kids at the time, and that was a long time ago

Page 109

life choices and doing the right thing

Photo of Eylon gil
Eylon gil@roxan

I would fantasize: there's me driving onto a studio a lot ; there's me breaking down the beats of a scene on stage . I was cold i was getting yelled at. and the energy of many of the guys was dark energy. most of this guys hated their jobs, and probably hated their lives. it would be easy to suck into despair.
but I didn't allow that to come inside. it wasn't welcome. I wasn't let them clutter my brain. I had something real to hold on to.

Page 98

not giving dark thoughts a place

Photo of Eylon gil
Eylon gil@roxan

The play was about self imprisonment,
"How we can be trapped by our own decisions"
our own inadequacies. I thought about how i'd felt jailed by the rain in blue ridge parkway. what if we could make it rain on stage? I was imagining a gossamer wall of water, a wall you could see through but couldn't fully penetrate it. it was perfect for the story

Page 10

Jailed by our thoughts.