Filthy Beasts: A Memoir (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781982122768)

Running with Scissors meets Grey Gardens in this gripping, true riches-to-rags tale of a wealthy family who lost it all and the unforgettable journey of a man coming to terms with his family's deep flaws and his own long-buried truths.

"Wake up, you filthy beasts " Wendy Hamill would shout to her children in the mornings before school. Startled from their dreams, Kirk and his two brothers couldn't help but wonder--would they find enough food in the house for breakfast?

Following a rancorous split from New York's upper-class society, newly divorced Wendy and her three sons are exiled from the East Coast elite circle. Wendy's middle son, Kirk, is eight when she moves the family to her native Bermuda, leaving the three young boys to fend for themselves as she chases after the highs of her old life: alcohol, a wealthy new suitor, and other indulgences.

After eventually leaving his mother's dysfunctional orbit for college in New Orleans, Kirk begins to realize how different his family and upbringing is from that of his friends and peers. Split between extreme privilege--early years living in luxury on his family's private compound--and bare survival--rationing food and water during the height of his mother's alcoholism--Kirk is used to keeping up appearances and burying his inconvenient truths from the world, until he's eighteen and falls in love for the first time.

A fascinating window into the life of extreme privilege and a powerful story of self-acceptance, Filthy Beasts recounts Kirk's unforgettable journey through luxury hotels and charity stores, private enclaves and public shame as he confronts his family's many imperfections, accepts his unconventional childhood, and finally comes to terms with his own hidden secrets.

Author: Kirkland Hamill
ISBN-10: 1982122765
ISBN-13: 9781982122768
Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Language: English
Published: 07/14/2020
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.80w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/01/2020 pg. 123
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2020
Booklist 06/01/2020 pg. 23
Publishers Weekly 06/29/2020
Shelf Awareness 07/21/2020