• I'll Be Damned

  • How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America's #1 Daytime Drama
  • By: Eric Braeden
  • Narrated by: Eric Braeden
  • Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (177 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
I'll Be Damned  By  cover art

I'll Be Damned

By: Eric Braeden
Narrated by: Eric Braeden
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.79

Buy for $19.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In this startling candid and poignant memoir, the legendary Emmy Award-winning star of The Young and the Restless, America's number-one soap opera, chronicles his amazing life, from his birth in World War II Germany to his arrival in America to his rise to humanitarian and daytime superstar for the past 35 years.

For nearly four decades, fans have welcomed the star of television's number-one daytime show, The Young and the Restless, into their living rooms. While they've come to know and love the suave Victor Newman, few truly know the man behind the character, the supremely talented Eric Braeden. I'll Be Damned is his story - a startling and uplifting true tale of war, deprivation, determination, fame, and social commitment that spans from Nazi Germany to modern Hollywood.

Braeden's journey from a hospital basement in Kiel to the soundstages of Los Angeles has taught him more about joy, heartbreak, fear, dignity, loss, love, loneliness, exhilaration, courage, persecution, and profound responsibility to the global community than he could have hoped to learn in several lifetimes. Growing up in the years after Germany's defeat, Braeden knew very little about the atrocities of his parents' generation until he arrived in America as a teenager - a discovery that horrified and transformed him. Trying to redress the wrongs of his homeland, he has dedicated his life to humanitarian work - even forming the German American Culture Society - working for decades to show the world that what we share as humans is far more important than what separates us from one another.

Told with openness, candor, humor, heart, and occasional raw vulnerability, I'll Be Damned reveals a man committed to making the world a better, more loving place. I'll Be Damned will be a treasured keepsake for Y&R fans and is an inspiring testament to the goodness within us all.

©2017 Eric Braeden (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about I'll Be Damned

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    149
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    136
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    129
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

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

Enthralling

I watched Y&R way back in the 80s and 90s so I am familiar with mr Braeden but hearing his life story had me speechless. The fact that he narrates makes it so much more - hearing the emotion and laughter straight from him that you wouldn't have from someone just reading it to you. Have huge respect for the man! Thanks for sharing your story.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

loved it!!

I was truly captivated by Eric's story of how he came to be on America's number one daytime drama. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of his viewpoints and his life lessons. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this book. as a long-time fan of The Young and the Restless, I highly recommend this to all of the fans and even to those who do not know the show and do not know who Victor Newman is. It is still a wonderful book!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I'll Be Damned

I will give this audio book written and read by Eric Braeden a 5 star review. I can only refer to this man as Victor because I have been watching him on TV The Young & Restless since the very beginning. Victor has given me such great pleasure even through difficult health times. He is always a excellent actor that I feel part of the Y&R-It's like being a fly on the wall. I'm so glad he has let the world know who the real person is!!!!!!!! Thank You, The Redhead.☺

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Great story!

It's always great to hear the author reading the book, and this makes it more meaningful. Mr. Braeden had an interesting life story that alone was worth listening to, but the Young and the Restless chapters were the icing on the cake. Great book!

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

Love Eric Braeden!

This is a compelling and very enjoyable book. It was interesting to discover how he made it to the USA and how he started in acting.

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

Awesome

I have watched Y&R since the early 80’s. I love Victor. This was such an interesting book about his life. I am in awe of the things he has accomplished. Kudos.

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

Interesting, entertaining, enlightening. The reader gets great insight in the making of a great man,

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

Captivating

I was totally captivated through this whole book. I learned so many things about Eric Braeden, and it makes me love him even more I love young and restless!

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 surprise this book was!

I expected to be entertained by stories it YnR but I was entertained and educated by the story of a full life well lived. I think Eric Braden is one of the most interesting people out there. He’s a great inspiration and as genuine as can be.



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

Much More Than Victor Newman

After eye surgery, I was just looking for a light book to listen to on audible.com. Eric Braeden's autobiography read in Braeden's/Victor Newman's voice sounded like the perfect choice, but Braeden's autobiography surprised me. It's mesmerizing, entertaining, thought-provoking and full of surprises. Braeden purpose-driven life unfolds in his quest to make his parents happy. When his father died at a young age, Braeden has to redefine his world as a child. Braeden's story was especially meaningful to me because of his recollections of growing up in Nazi Germany. Growing up, my mom who grew up in Nazi Germany as a displaced immigrant told stories of people walking with wheelbarrows full of money to buy a loaf of bread and stories of my grandmother digging through farmers' harvested field for potatoes. To hear Braeden speak of these same events felt like a validation of my mom's stories. While the autobiography is clearly a chronicle of how he turned a soap opera role into an iconic character, it's also the story of how he used that character on a world stage to make important statements against prejudice. His most interesting conflict comes from reconciling himself with the fact his father belonged to the Nazi party because of Hiter's pre-Holocaust, economic policies. His story is a chilling reminder of how ordinary people get sucked into extremism and the difficulties -- if not impossibility -- of extracting themselves from turning political tides. This is an honest, witty, profound autobiography built on meaningful anecdotes that create a vivid picture of Braeden's life.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!