Filthy Beasts

By: Kirkland Hamill

Narrated by: Kirkland Hamill

Running with Scissors meets Grey Gardens in this “vivid tragicomedy” (People), a riveting 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 hidden secrets.

“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 hostile exit 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 rich 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 keenly observed, fascinating window into the life of extreme privilege and a powerful story of self-acceptance, Filthy Beasts is “a stunning, deeply satisfying story about how we outlive our upbringings” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

wonderful memoir!

loved this story. I could easily picture the situations in this story...well detailed but not overly..very funny and sombering!

Funny, sad, well written

Appreciate the honest look at a difficult subject. The audio book was very good and entertaining.

Mr Hamill

Kirk narrates his hilarious and tragic up bringing. I loved it. I had heard some of the stories before but I hadn’t heard it all. Great read thank you so much

Kirk’s personality shines through

I love that the author is also the audiobook reader. His true personality and wonderful sense of humor pepper the experience with familiar sarcasm and kept us laughing (and crying, at times) as if we were sitting in his living room hearing the story in person.

Tragic family story

This story was more tragic and sad than I expected. There was also an intense scene of child abuse that has stuck with me. That being said, it’s a fascinating story that kept me coming back, especially knowing that the narrator was the author himself and expressed his true emotions.