
Accidentally on Purpose
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Narrated by:
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Kristen Kish
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By:
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Kristen Kish
About this listen
A tender, cleareyed memoir, Accidentally on Purpose charts a journey full of purpose, belonging, and real love—a “recipe for a life worth living” (Stacy London).
Kristen Kish never could have imagined people on the street knowing her name—not when she was a carefree softball-tossing kid, in high school working at a pretzel stand, and not even when she finally found her true calling as a chef. In those early days, becoming a chef meant tethering oneself to a restaurant and working in the back of a kitchen, not a television set. But working in the spotlight happened naturally, even if the attention was totally unanticipated. And like most things in Kristen’s life, the road was so much more winding and complicated than it may have appeared from the outside.
From growing up as an adoptee in the Midwest, to trying to fit in with all the other girls who were busy dating boys, to coming out and finding love when she least expected it, Kristen learned that, unlike a map, no set of plans or definitions can dictate or explain a life. In fact, accidents happen. Curveballs will come. And even the full-circle moments—like winning Top Chef to becoming its Emmy-nominated host years later—could have guaranteed these opportunities.
In Accidentally on Purpose, what defines Kristen’s story aren’t the missteps or even the pleasant surprises that crop up but how she learned to find her voice and use it. Because while accidents may be unexpected, they don’t have to be at odds with purpose. And as Kristen approaches life’s milestones, big and small, with intention, she realizes at those junctures—the ones beyond the borders of the map, behind-the-scenes, and off camera—are where the decisions and discoveries are made. Where the unexpected meets the intentional. And that’s where things get really interesting.
©2025 Kristen Kish (P)2025 Little, Brown & CompanyListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
José Andrés is a chef, an entrepreneur, an author, a television host, and a tireless humanitarian leader across the globe. A Michelin-starred chef with more than forty restaurants, José is also the founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to feeding the hungry in the wake of natural and man-made disasters. His lifetime of experience—from kitchens to conflict zones—has given him a wealth of stories and teachable moments that are funny, touching, and insightful.
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Chef Andres humanity and wisdom
- By Carmel on 05-02-25
By: José Andrés
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The Dry Season
- A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex
- By: Melissa Febos
- Narrated by: Melissa Febos
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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In the wake of a catastrophic two-year relationship, Melissa Febos decided to take a break: For three months she would abstain from dating, relationships, and sex. Her friends were amused. Did she really think three months was a long time? But to Febos, it was. Ever since her teens, she had been in one relationship after another with men and women. As she puts it, she could trace a “daisy chain of romances” from her adolescence to her midthirties. Finally, she would carve out time to focus on herself and examine the patterns that had produced her midlife disaster.
By: Melissa Febos
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Notes to John
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Julianne Moore
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In November 1999, Joan Didion began seeing a psychiatrist because, as she wrote to a friend, her family had had “a rough few years.” She described the sessions in a journal she created for her husband, John Gregory Dunne. For several months, Didion recorded conversations with the psychiatrist in meticulous detail. The initial sessions focused on alcoholism, adoption, depression, anxiety, guilt, and the heartbreaking complexities of her relationship with her daughter, Quintana. The subjects evolved to include her work, which she was finding difficult to maintain for sustained periods.
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This autobiography discusses notes from therapy regarding Joan’s daughter’s addiction. Very insightful!
- By Laura Borealis on 04-24-25
By: Joan Didion
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Sing to Me
- A Novel
- By: Jesse Browner
- Narrated by: Samara Naeymi
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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His family farm and the surrounding community now emptied by war, young Hani embarks on an epic quest–assisted by a brooding yet brilliant donkey–to find his lost sister in the ruins of Troy. Some war stories transcend time and circumstance, and so it is with the resourceful and heartbroken Hani, who must employ every bit of intelligence, every scrap of ingenuity, and ultimately every ounce of his spirit and humor to withstand the forces of civilization’s collapse.
By: Jesse Browner
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The 10
- A Memoir of Family and the Open Road
- By: E.A. Hanks
- Narrated by: E.A. Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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From Vanity Fair and The New York Times contributor comes a beautifully written, deeply felt memoir recounting the solo cross-country journey she made along the Ten across the American southwest: a mission to uncover both what harrowing violence may or may not have happened to her late mother, but also, to look within and discover who she herself is—where her mother ends and she begins.
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E.A. Hanks’s writing never flinches—always fresh, vulnerable, and deeply honest
- By Jonah Evans on 04-09-25
By: E.A. Hanks
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Four Mothers
- An Intimate Journey Through the First Year of Parenthood in Four Countries
- By: Abigail Leonard
- Narrated by: Eleanor Caudill
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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As debates surrounding paid leave, universal daycare, and national healthcare rage on, Four Mothers is an intimate portrait of what those policies mean in the everyday lives of four women—and a compelling argument for the necessity and urgency of supporting parents.
By: Abigail Leonard
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So Gay for You
- Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All
- By: Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey
- Narrated by: Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early 2000s, Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey—both young artists trying to figure it all out—met at auditions for an unknown little TV show. Given that it was a show about lesbians living in Los Angeles, with the first ever ensemble cast of openly queer female characters, Kate and Leisha knew the project was going to be unlike anything else out there—that is, if it even got picked up.
By: Kate Moennig, and others
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Chicken-Fried Women
- Friendship, Kinship, and the Women Who Made Us This Way
- By: Melissa Radke
- Narrated by: Melissa Radke
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucy and Ethel. Laverne and Shirley. Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche, and Rose. Chicken-Fried Women is a celebration of them: the women who raised us, taught us to cook and clap back. The ones who prayed for us, raged at us and humbled us a notch or two when we needed it. These are the women who have encouraged us, teased us, chastised us, and mortified us. And as they fill up the seats around our table, we realize we wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Southern truth with no apology!
- By Diane D Paulk on 05-11-25
By: Melissa Radke
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We Did Ok, Kid
- A Memoir
- By: Sir Anthony Hopkins
- Narrated by: Sir Anthony Hopkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Born and raised in Port Talbot—a small Welsh steelworks town—amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents, and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.
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Theater Kid
- By: Jeffrey Seller
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Seller, Annaleigh Ashford, Kyle Beltran, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre.
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Outstanding
- By Ximena Enriquez on 05-11-25
By: Jeffrey Seller
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No Words for This
- By: Ali Mau
- Narrated by: Ali Mau
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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From the age of twelve, Alison Mau wanted to be a journalist like her father. He was a beer-swilling, straight-talking Aussie who was rough around the edges but could quote passages of Hamlet at will. He taught Ali everything—from how to skin a rabbit and throw a punch to how to craft a sharp sentence—and she craved his validation as she navigated the sexist badlands of Australian print and television journalism through the 1980s and '90s.
By: Ali Mau
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My Next Breath
- A Memoir
- By: Jeremy Renner
- Narrated by: Jeremy Renner
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner was the second-most-googled person in 2023—and not for his impressive filmography. His searing portrayals on film ranged from an Iraq-based army bomb technician in The Hurt Locker and a Boston bank robber in The Town to a crooked Camden mayor in American Hustle before he became heir to the Jason Bourne franchise (The Bourne Legacy). Amongst other iconic roles, he also captured hearts as fan-favorite comic book marksman Hawkeye in seven Marvel films.
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The insights into how your POV makes a difference in your life and achievements
- By Christina Johnson on 04-30-25
By: Jeremy Renner
What listeners say about Accidentally on Purpose
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carmen P.
- 05-04-25
Admirable
As a fan of Kristen and top chef this was an absolutely delightful story. A story of becoming your true self and the journey along the way
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- snizide
- 05-05-25
Moving and inspiring story!
What a story! A story about life and love and how they can be messy and beautiful, hard and exciting at the same time. Love that this is narrated by Kristen herself, you can really feel her emotion when listening. Would definitely recommend.
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- K. MAY
- 05-01-25
The vulnerability, the authenticity & the transparency!
This book was PHENOMENAL!! And I’m so glad Kristen chose to read the book herself! The emotions were present through the entire book! I could NOT stop listening! It was riveting, funny, sad at moments when she detailed her previous issues with substance abuse.
The book was thoughtful and gave me the courage to examine if I’m open to what the universe has for me! Well done!
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- Andrea Miller
- 04-28-25
Amazing story
Kristin has so much more to offer than just recipes. I love the way she described her early life and working to make space for diversity in the kitchen. I will recommend this book to many people.
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- Jo
- 05-04-25
No story building, plot, or emotional exploration
This is your typical celebrity memoir filled with emotional platitudes and lacking any real story, emotional exploration, and introspection. The author is talking at you and although she tells you an accounting of her life it lacks any real depth. The parental fawning is cringe worthy. Every time she gets close to any real depth about herself she moves on my giving her parents a pass and even states she had the perfect childhood while saying she was depressed and lacked direction which of course had nothing to do with her perfect life in MI. Perhaps fans of hers will appreciate a glimpse into her life but it is neither thought provoking or gripping. This may hold your interest if you can get over the constant gratitude. I think if you want to write a love letter to those you love there are much better ways to go about it. The performance was fine/good. I read a review that said it was like a robotic connect the dots and I basically agree.
If you are looking for meaningful memoirs I suggest sticking to non celebrity ones because they don’t rely on fame and are held to a much higher standard. There are the few odd ones which I’m thankful for, but I don’t think this is one of them.
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- NMwritergal
- 04-23-25
Enjoyable listen for fans…
…of Kristen Kish and Top Chef fans. Kish has lots of interesting things to say. Unfortunately, many of them she says about 10 to 50 times--e.g., countless repetitions of how her family loves her, how she has social anxiety, and stuff like that. The book needed a serious edit. She also is excessively grateful. I mean, it's nice that she appreciates what she has and she seems like a genuine person, but it was excessive. She does a lot better when she's just describing what's happening--working in kitchens, working on TV, opening a restaurant, meeting her wife... Still, it was a good listen.
As a reader of memoirs (even when I've never heard of the person), the mark of a good memoir is that it doesn't matter that the person is unfamiliar to you. There are plenty that if you're unfamiliar with the author then it's only about the story and the writing. I'm not sure how much appeal this will have to someone who doesn't watch Top Chef and isn't a fan of Kish. There's enough interesting stuff (Korean, adopted by white people, raised in the midwest, queer, cooking, TV) but it's mostly "tell" rather than "show," which weakens the writing.
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2 people found this helpful