Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother

  • My Autobiography
  • By: Sue Johnston
  • Narrated by: Sue Johnston
  • Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (302 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother

By: Sue Johnston
Narrated by: Sue Johnston
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Sue Johnston always seemed to be disappointing her mother. As a girl she never stayed clean and tidy like her cousins. As she grew older, she spent all her piano lesson money on drinks for her mates down the pub, and when she discovered the Cavern she was never at home. The final straw was when Sue left her steady job at a St Helens factory to try her hand at that unsteadiest of jobs: acting.

Yet when Sue was bringing up her own child alone, her mother was always there to help. And playing her much-loved characters Sheila Grant and Barbara Royle – although her mum wouldn’t say she was proud as such, she certainly seemed to approve. And in her mother’s final months, it was Sue she needed by her side.

The relationship with your mother is perhaps the most precious and fraught of any woman’s life. When she began writing, Sue set out to record ‘all the big things, and all the small things. Everything I wanted to tell my mother but felt I never could’. The result is a warm, poignant and often very funny memoir by one of Britain’s favourite actresses.

©2011 Sue Johnston (P)2011 Random House Audio Go
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Oh Miriam! cover art
That's Another Story cover art
What's It All About? cover art
Riding the Waves cover art
Parky cover art
By Your Side cover art
The Two of Us cover art
Old Rage cover art
Call Me Mrs. Brown cover art
My Turn cover art
David Jason: My Life cover art
The Happy Hoofer cover art
Just Me cover art
My Account cover art
How Did All This Happen? cover art
Live. Laugh. Love. cover art

What listeners say about Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    228
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    194
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    175
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a gentle journey we can all relate to

gentle bedtime listening I had to keep rewinding to make sure I hadn't missed anything

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Fascinating insight into the life of Sue. I feel I know her! Very heartwarming. Would like to have met her mum and dad!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a lady Sue Johnston is

An amazing book (audible book) this is. A full insight into the life of the legend that is Sue Johnston. A must read, if you’ve not had the privilege of doing so yet. 5 Star.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

From the heart

Lovely to get to know more about the women behind her on screen persona x

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Didn't want it to end.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, I've saved a part of my day to listen to it. I've laughed and cried as Sue read passages that I could relate to. I would just like to say thank you. x

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Heartfelt biography

I so enjoyed listening to Sue Johnston, she has an easy voice to listen to and so much of her growing up I could relate to being roughly the same age, I felt very moved listening to certain parts of her story but loved it and would recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing story

I have heard a good number of stories by female actors and in some occasions been disappointed. This book did not disappoint. Sue’s honesty and ‘feet firmly on the ground’ approach to life is refreshing. Great actir now writer. Thanks Sue

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Honest and Entertaining

I heard Sue in various interviews discussing her book and I was not disappointed by it. (Unlike Ricky Tomlinson's) Her style is just as she is and her tales are warm and well told.
I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant

warm, funny and completely well written and read. I would recommend it to anyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An honest memoir

I really enjoyed most of this memoir. It was honest and humble, and generous to her family and friends. The only downer was it was a bit too much like a psychotherapy session at times. But otherwise well written and absorbing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!