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One Sinha Lifetime

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

'That night, I'd survived my life flashing before me, with my dignity intact.
Yes, this chaotic life has always been a gamble.
... But what a gamble.'

Paul Sinha is an award-winning comedian, a quizzing mastermind and a happily-married husband. But for much of his life none of these seemed remotely imaginable.

As a boy, Paul struggled to find his place in a world where he didn't quite fit. Who was he? An over-achieving schoolkid with the world's knowledge at his fingertips? A traditional Bengali son, destined for a career in medicine that he never once craved? A young gay man yearning to breathe freely? Or was he yet another flawed human being on a self-destruct mission?

Amid life's mayhem, it was frequently Paul's love of facts in which he found solace, whether funding his lifestyle through quiz machines or simply trying to show off to his mates. Stumbling serendipitously into both a career in stand-up and a clandestine network of competitive quizzers introduced him to a new sense of purpose, a new identity, and, eventually, new love...

A hilarious and moving coming-of-age memoir of one man's search for fulfilment, One Sinha Lifetime is an unconventional odyssey through love, family, and the joy of general knowledge.

©2024 Paul Sinha (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

Just when I thought I had the market sewn up for memoirs about gay former doctors who went to Dulwich College then the University of London, here comes this wonderful book by Paul Sinha. Uncompromisingly honest, and just as funny as his stand-up (which is very funny indeed).
Adam Kay
One Sinha Lifetime is smart, funny and thoroughly entertaining. Paul Sinha is as sharp and witty when he’s recounting the worst days of his life, as he is when re-living the best and I simply couldn’t get enough! I loved it!
Janice Hallett
A lovely and funny book.
Miles Jupp
One Sinha Lifetime is an eloquent, pithy, painfully honest book in which the subject doesn’t shy away from his flaws. It is not particularly about comedy because there has been so much more to his life. He doesn’t attempt to paint a picture of himself as perfect. He admits to having alcohol problems, gambling problems and relationship struggles. He knew he was gay from an early age but always feared coming out to his parents. In the end, of course, when they found out it was simply not an issue. One Sinha Lifetime is not just laugh-out-loud funny, it is inspiring too.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke
Paul's book is beautiful, sad, funny and a reminder of the fragility of this thing called life. Love shines through it. The love of his family, his husband, his quizzing and his comedy. I cannot though, however hard I try, imagine him stood in front of a Jongleurs audience. That simply does not compute. Everyone needs to check out Perfect Pub Quiz, his Radio 4 show. One of the best things out there.
Iain Lee, broadcaster & counsellor
I loved Paul's autobiography (and it has the best title I’ve seen in some time!). Lots of fascinating insights into the worlds of quizzing and comedy, disarming honesty, great jokes and some deliciously waspish pen portraits of people he’s met along the way…
Matt Green, comedian & actor
One Sinha Lifetime is as funny as you'd expect from as brilliant and witty a stand-up as Paul Sinha, but you might not be prepared for how raw, open and honest it is. So much more than a memoir of a comedian, this is a story of love and loneliness, of loss and triumph and it speaks quite beautifully to the balancing act second generation immigrants have to pull off to find a way to be who we really are. You'll cheer Paul every step of the way as he navigates that tricky path with bravery and humour.
Nick Ahad, writer & broadcaster
Author Paul Sinha
Narrator Paul Sinha
Duration 7 hours and 34 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781529925111
Format Audiobook
Publisher Ebury Publishing
Genre Autobiography: arts and entertainment, Comedy and stand-up, Memoirs
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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