Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me

by Jamie Foxx Narrated by Jamie Foxx, Corinne Foxx

Overview

From Academy Award-winning multi-talent Jamie Foxx, a hilariously candid look at the joys and pitfalls of being the father of two daughters.

Jamie Foxx has won an Academy Award and a Grammy Award, laughed with sitting presidents, and partied with the biggest names in hip-hop. But he is most proud of his role as father to two very independent young women, Corinne and Anelise. Jamie might not always know what he's doing when it comes to raising girls-especially when they talk to him about TikTok (PlikPlok?) and don't share his enthusiasm for flashy Rolls Royces-but he does his best to show up for them every single day.

Luckily, he has a strong example to follow: his beloved late grandmother, Estelle Marie Talley. *Jamie learned everything he knows about parenting from the fierce woman who raised him: As he puts it, she's “Madea before Tyler Perry put on the pumps and the gray wig.”
*
In Act Like You Got Some Sense-a title inspired by Estelle-Jamie shares up close and personal stories about the tough love and old-school values he learned growing up in the small town of Terrell, Texas; his early days trying to make it in Hollywood; the joys and challenges of achieving stardom; and how each phase of his life shaped his parenting journey. Hilarious, poignant, and always brutally honest, this is Jamie Foxx like we've never seen him before.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2022 - AudioFile

Multitalented entertainer Jamie Foxx tells it like it is—with help from his oldest daughter, Corinne Foxx—in this funny, touching, and irreverent memoir narrated by himself. Corinne provides a humorously honest foreword with her perspective of her dad. Jamie uses a tender tone while sharing childhood stories about being raised by his beloved grandmother, and it underlines his vulnerability in not having known his own parents well until later in life. Jamie shares how his path to fame made it easier to provide for his family but more difficult to be present for them. Eventually, he corrected this and learned many lessons along the way. Hilarious impersonations of Oprah, Eddie Murphy, and other celebrities round out this heartfelt collection of stories from a Hollywood father. A.L.C. 2022 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/30/2021

In this debut full of genuine reflection and heartfelt humor, actor and comedian Foxx riffs on parenting (“You ain’t ready for it”) and the life experiences that gradually helped shape him as a father. Raised by his grandparents, Foxx describes his “granny” as a suffer-no-fools individual whose “toughness... was practiced on strangers so she could give family the full treatment.” The wisdom she imparted—such as “You made your bed, now you gotta sleep in it”—would later have a profound impact on Foxx as he navigated his own uncharted waters through single fatherhood. Lessons in humility (which Foxx pokes fun at self-deprecatingly), perseverance, and common sense are just a few things he’s tried to impress upon his two daughters, who are 27 and 13. Foxx writes in a jovial manner, with jokes flying constantly: “Like many fathers of daughters... a boyfriend puts me on immediate high alert. I want to be courteous and gracious, but a part of me also wants to punch him in the throat for no reason.” Yet where this book truly excels is in its honesty, offering an intimate look past Jamie Foxx the famous actor to reveal a relatable figure with “two young girls... who don’t give a shit about any of that.” Fans and parents alike will get a kick out of this. Agent: Anthony Mattero, Creative Artists. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

"In this debut full of genuine reflection and heartfelt humor, actor and comedian Foxx riffs on parenting (“You ain’t ready for it”) and the life experiences that gradually helped shape him as a father. . . Foxx writes in a jovial manner, with jokes flying constantly. . . Yet where this book truly excels is in its honesty, offering an intimate look past Jamie Foxx the famous actor to reveal a relatable figure."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Wise, joyful and hilarious."—People

"A practical, sometimes profane, always entertaining guide to the fine art of parenting."—Kirkus Reviews

"In cheerfully meandering stories, Foxx displays his comedic timing and pacing and is always entertaining, blending the folksy yet hard-edged wisdom of his adoptive grandmother with hard-won, more worldly "New Dad" sensibilities. . . Foxx's parenting-advice book is the equivalent of a vitamin-packed smoothie: sweet, fun, and easy to enjoy, full of slyly concealed nourishment and goodness."—Booklist

"Act Like You Got Some Sense—its title gleaned from a phrase his late grandmother Estelle told him often—hilariously and poignantly details [Foxx's] upbringing as well as his experiences raising daughters Corinne, 27, and Anelise, 13, while orbiting Hollywood as one of its biggest and hardest-working stars."—Men's Health

"[R]eally funny. . . If you weren’t already a fan [of Foxx], you’ll be one after reading this heartfelt and honest book."—CNN

"Foxx’s tales of fatherhood are heartwarming and humorous, and he offers sensible tips that serve as strong reminders of how to treat today’s youth with respect and patience. . . Foxx's many fans will embrace the opportunity to learn more about the enigmatic actor, and parents will appreciate his commonsense, relatable approach to raising independent humans." —Library Journal

Library Journal

10/01/2021

While it may seem strange to solicit parenting advice from a performer, Oscar-winning actor Foxx's tales of fatherhood are heartwarming and humorous, and he offers sensible tips that serve as strong reminders of how to treat today's youth with respect and patience. Foxx's deeply personal journey to success in both the performing arts and in fatherhood began with his own complicated family dynamics—basically abandoned as a baby by his young parents, he was adopted and raised by his maternal grandparents. Their tough-love philosophy, coupled with his grandmother's recognition of Foxx's talent and potential, set him on the path to success, he writes. Foxx achieved monumental success in stand-up comedy, television, film, and even as a Grammy-winning recording artist, yet he says that nothing fully prepared him for life as a single father of two daughters. In this book tackling everything from dating to sacrificing his social life, Foxx is surprisingly open about his own mistakes and reflective about his conflicted feelings toward his parents and his eventual reconciliation with his mother. VERDICT Foxx's many fans will embrace the opportunity to learn more about the enigmatic actor, and parents will appreciate his commonsense, relatable approach to raising independent humans.

MARCH 2022 - AudioFile

Multitalented entertainer Jamie Foxx tells it like it is—with help from his oldest daughter, Corinne Foxx—in this funny, touching, and irreverent memoir narrated by himself. Corinne provides a humorously honest foreword with her perspective of her dad. Jamie uses a tender tone while sharing childhood stories about being raised by his beloved grandmother, and it underlines his vulnerability in not having known his own parents well until later in life. Jamie shares how his path to fame made it easier to provide for his family but more difficult to be present for them. Eventually, he corrected this and learned many lessons along the way. Hilarious impersonations of Oprah, Eddie Murphy, and other celebrities round out this heartfelt collection of stories from a Hollywood father. A.L.C. 2022 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2021-08-18
Academy Award–winning actor Foxx recounts raising two daughters in challenging times.

“Dad Rule No. 1,” writes the author, is simple: “You gotta show up.” His own childhood was marked by such presence. Following his parents’ divorce, he was raised by a grandmother who gave him the tough-love lesson “that you can entertain yourself on your own side of the street.” His daughters, brimming with self-confidence, take delight in testing him—e.g., when he asked 13-year-old Anelise to get off the phone for two minutes, to which she responded by setting a timer for precisely two minutes. “I don’t mean literally,” said Foxx. “Then you should say what you mean,” she replied. They also take pleasure in teaching him. “All grown people do is talk about people that are different,” asserts 27-year-old Corinne, arguing that her generation has no interest in making distinctions on the basis of sexuality, religion, or other dividing lines. Foxx rightly prizes the good sense and solid values he has instilled in his daughters, but he also notes that parents must push their children to explore the world and make ethical and moral decisions for themselves. “Just be careful if they go too far,” he adds, “because they might need an exorcism”—or, as when one of the children ate a pot brownie by mistake, a talking-down. A major part of the work of raising daughters, Foxx concludes, is to empower them, “which means being honest with them about the challenges they will face and showing them that they have the ability to overcome them.” It helps to have the financial resources that Foxx has acquired in his decades in Hollywood, but the lessons he imparts, both humorous and serious, are applicable just about everywhere.

A practical, sometimes profane, always entertaining guide to the fine art of parenting.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177146959
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/19/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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