Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
A sad, beautiful, and honest memoir. The way Michael Ausiello recounts the life and death of his husband, Kit Cowan, made me feel like I was privileged to get to know Kit through this book.
This isn't a perfect book -- we get it, Michael, you like fountain Diet Coke -- but it is a very worthwhile read.
This isn't a perfect book -- we get it, Michael, you like fountain Diet Coke -- but it is a very worthwhile read.
Funny, heartbreaking and unflinchingly honest. Be prepared to cry. And laugh.
This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me question, made me cringe, made me think. Michael Ausiello has written his and Kit's story in a way that is immediately accessible. The reverence, the love, the anger, the anxiety were palpable throughout his telling of their gut-wrenching story. This book is an amazing tribute and a reminder to live, to accept our imperfect selves and to fight, and to be and to love.
Visit Hidden Staircase for my full review.
In March 2014, Michael Ausiello’s then partner, soon-to-be husband, Kit was diagnosed with a very rare and very aggressive form of cancer. 11 months later, Kit lost his battle. Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies chronicles Michael and Kit’s journey of love and loss.
Michael brings his traditional brand of snark from his scoops into his memoir, and it is greatly appreciated, at least from this reader. Michael and Kit found dark humor as Kit’s battle raged on, and Michael’s writing style brings some much needed lightness through the darker times. (Not to say this is a light book. It is not.)
As he chronicles Kit’s last eleven months, Michael flashes back to when they first met, and also different stories from their years together. I was laughing so hard when Kit first encountered Michael’s Smurf collection. And as Michael follows the ups and downs of Kit’s fight, I enjoyed the bliss they found in unexpected moments, like when Kit fixed their small deck up so he could sit outside and enjoy the afternoon with their cat, Mister Scooch.
I have to tell you, I was a MESS reading the last three chapters. Just an absolute mess.
The end of the book (while extremely sad) was really well written. I read one chapter a night of Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies (I knew one chapter at a time was I could handle) until I hit the end – and then I read the last three chapters and afterword all together. I found the afterword lovely and bittersweet and it broke my heart.
Bottom line: I loved this book. Just loved it. Michael isn’t perfect. Kit wasn’t perfect. But their love story? It’s pretty perfect.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In March 2014, Michael Ausiello’s then partner, soon-to-be husband, Kit was diagnosed with a very rare and very aggressive form of cancer. 11 months later, Kit lost his battle. Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies chronicles Michael and Kit’s journey of love and loss.
Michael brings his traditional brand of snark from his scoops into his memoir, and it is greatly appreciated, at least from this reader. Michael and Kit found dark humor as Kit’s battle raged on, and Michael’s writing style brings some much needed lightness through the darker times. (Not to say this is a light book. It is not.)
As he chronicles Kit’s last eleven months, Michael flashes back to when they first met, and also different stories from their years together. I was laughing so hard when Kit first encountered Michael’s Smurf collection. And as Michael follows the ups and downs of Kit’s fight, I enjoyed the bliss they found in unexpected moments, like when Kit fixed their small deck up so he could sit outside and enjoy the afternoon with their cat, Mister Scooch.
I have to tell you, I was a MESS reading the last three chapters. Just an absolute mess.
The end of the book (while extremely sad) was really well written. I read one chapter a night of Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies (I knew one chapter at a time was I could handle) until I hit the end – and then I read the last three chapters and afterword all together. I found the afterword lovely and bittersweet and it broke my heart.
Bottom line: I loved this book. Just loved it. Michael isn’t perfect. Kit wasn’t perfect. But their love story? It’s pretty perfect.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
8/10.
Simultaneously heartfelt and heart wrenching, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies is a detailed account of the final year of Kit Cowan’s (the long term partner of the author) life as well as a retelling of their entire 13+ year relationship. I recommend the book, so long as you are prepared to be spared no details about the grueling cancer battle at its heart. The movie based upon it is a solid companion, but it definitely doesn’t convey the full story (neither the central love story nor the subsequent cancer battle) quite as well + it alters some major plot points of the book.
I really need to end this streak I have of reading books about loved ones with terminal cancer.
Simultaneously heartfelt and heart wrenching, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies is a detailed account of the final year of Kit Cowan’s (the long term partner of the author) life as well as a retelling of their entire 13+ year relationship. I recommend the book, so long as you are prepared to be spared no details about the grueling cancer battle at its heart. The movie based upon it is a solid companion, but it definitely doesn’t convey the full story (neither the central love story nor the subsequent cancer battle) quite as well + it alters some major plot points of the book.
I really need to end this streak I have of reading books about loved ones with terminal cancer.
I love a good celebrity memoir, but this one I can't recommend enough. Only if you're OK with sobbing like a crazy person while you read, though. The detail in which Ausiello tells his story makes the book read like fiction, not a memoir, which is kind of impressive. I had to remind myself that this was real and not some made up story. It's so funny and sad at once that you kind of don't know how to feel while reading it, and that's good thing.
Narration was fantastic - Ausiello is a great storyteller. And all of the characters were likable. And I really liked knowing the ending (surprisingly). But I felt like the emotions could have been bigger and more heartbreaking…. I feel like I should’ve been crying the whole time when reading a book like this, but I wasn’t.
This was a funny and heartbreaking memoir. The last chapter was an interesting fantasy of what the author’s life could have become, but didn’t.
I listened to the audiobook. I’m impressed that the author was able to read some sections of it.
I listened to the audiobook. I’m impressed that the author was able to read some sections of it.
I actually watched the movie Spoiler Alert (starring my BFF Jim Parsons) first and then liked it so much I decided to read the book. Spoiler Alert is Michael Ausiello’s memoir of the time he spent caring for his husband Kit when he was dying of cancer. He also flashes back to moments over the course of their fourteen year relationship. It’s actually quite funny in parts and of course incredibly sad in others. It’s a true testament to the power of unconditional love. Recommended.