BOOK 1 POST 2: Putting the Rabbit in the Hat

Brian Cox was born to a working-class Catholic family in Scotland. His childhood was full of tragedy. Brian’s father died of cancer when he was eight, leaving his mentally ill mother to take care of him and his four siblings. She had had five children and five miscarriages— events that left her scarred. She would leave Brian and his siblings for weeks without notice. Despite the hardships, Brian found a passion for acting and cinema. He frequented the cinema and would watch eight films in a week. Then, after seeing Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, he decided he would be an actor. Brian Cox worked his way up in the acting world despite his hardships. Putting the Rabbit in the Hat is a book full of candid stories of other actors, self-deprecating humor, and perseverance to achieve one’s dreams.

One of the main takeaways from the book was the inspiration I felt from it, but not in the way one might assume at first. While yes, Brian Cox’s success despite his hard childhood was extremely inspiring, I found another aspect of the book to be more inspiring. This is his humor and authenticity as a person. It was very evident that Brian knows he is not perfect. Instead of brushing all of his shortcomings under the rug, he discusses them in a humorous way. I found this super refreshing. It made me realize that you can find success and still not be perfect. You can be successful and still keep your sense of humor and not shy away from your imperfections. Another one of the main takeaways was that if you’re really passionate about something and want to make something happen, you can do it. Too often I get caught up in self-doubt and convince myself that success is mostly luck. However, I am a hard worker and I should know that through hard work, I can achieve my goals.

Overall, the book was very good. While sometimes his style of writing made the book difficult to understand, it was also very fun to read. Once you got into it, it flowed nicely. I think all the Scottish slang and jabs at other actors made the book really engaging, so I’m grateful for all the character he put in the book. In addition, the story itself was a fun read. The only parts I didn’t love were when he went on about all his success. While it was well-deserved, there was definitely an undertone of arrogance to Cox’s writing. Also, after some research, I learned that there were many scandals of his that Brian did not address at all. While he was very transparent, I would’ve loved to see a bit more. However, the book was overall a great read. 7.5/10 :)