Bent But Not Broken Audio Book Sample

Hello Friends,

If you would like to enjoy an audiobook sample of Bent But Not Broken, here's Chapter 1!

Click

The book has been helping men, one penis at a time, and everyone else, just because, well, you know how universal this theme is: Life Can Be Difficult.

The audiobook can be purchased on Amazon and wherever else audiobooks are sold. Of course, you can read the book, too.

As Kirkus Reviews recently wrote:

“Cummings’ skills as a writer are apparent from the beginning. His prose is effortlessly clever, finding the entertaining medium between lyricism and sass. The frankness with which he discusses his problem, the treatment, and his sex life makes for an oddly shocking book—one rarely reads quite so much about penises, as central as they often are to literature. He manages to demystify and destigmatize Peyronie’s, which though obscure is not completely uncommon. More than that, he makes the most of an undignified opportunity to examine his own masculinity.”

You can get to all you ever wanted to hear or read about Peyronie's disease, and so much more, at

doncummings.net

Stay healthy, wear your masks please, keep your social distance, and remember--things often do get better!

APPENDIX to BENT BUT NOT BROKEN

APPENDIX to Bent But Not Broken

THE TREATMENT SCHEDULE

Don Goes to Town

YEAR 1

February/March          Noticed a penis problem

July 26                        First visit to Dr. Hellman. (Not real name.) Prescription for AndroPenis.

July 30                        Curvature Assessment

August 1                     AndroPenis (Penis stretcher with tension rods): 

Measurement taken:

Full size of stretched, non-erect penis:  5.25 in, or 13.3 cm

Started with a .5 cm metal screw added onto the AndroPenis Base. The Base of the AndroPenis is 8.4 cm.

Using the AndroPenis directions for measurement, I began with the 8.4 cm Base plus .5 cm for a beginning total of 8.9 cm which was  

 the AndroPenis beginning calculation:

Initial Personal Measurement, fully stretched non-erect penis was 5.25 in, 13.3 cm (but I used a measurement of 5 in, 12.7 cm to be conservative) less 4 cm (subtracted according to Andropenis instructions) which is 8.7 cm. I rounded up to 8.9 cm

August 2                     2 hours with Base plus .5 cm  = 8.9 cm          

August 3                     2 hours with .5                        

August 4                     4 hours with .5                        

August 5                     4 hours with .5                        

August 6                     4 hours with .5                        

August 7                     4 hours with Base (8.4 cm) plus 1 cm            

August 8                     4 hours with 1                         

August 9                     First Verapamil Treatment (Verapamil/saline solution needles)

August 10                   4 hours with 1             

August 11                   4 hours with 1             

August 12                   4 hours with 1                         

August 13                   4 hours with 1             

August 14                   2 hours with 1             

August 15                   None

August 16                   5.25 hours with 1        

August 17                   6 hours with 1             

August 18                   4 hours with Base (8.4 cm) with 1.5

August 19                   4 hours with 1.5

August 20                   4 hours with 1.5

August 21                   4 hours with 1.5

August 22                   4 hours with 1.5

August 23                   5 hours with 1.5

August 24                   Second Verapamil Treatment, and 2 hours with 1.5

August 25                   2 hours with 1.5

August 26                   4 hours with 1.5

August 27                   4 hours with 1.5          

August 28                   2 hours with 1.5

August 29                   2 hours with 1.5

August 30                   4 hours with 1.5

August 31                   4 hours with 1.5

September 1                4 hours with Base (8.4 cm) with 2                  

September 2                4 hours with 2

September 3                Third Verapamil Treatment

September 4                4 hours with 2

September 5                4 hours with 2

September 6                4 hours with 2

September 7                2 hours with 2

September 8                2 hours with 2

September 9                2 hours with 2

September 10              2 hours with 2

September 11              2 hours with 2

September 12              2 hours with 2

September 13              4 hours with 2

September 14              4 hours with 2

September 15              4 hours with 2

September 16              2 hours with 2, 2 hours with Base (Always 8.4 cm) with 2.5

September 17              4 hours with 2.5

September 18              4 hours with 2.5

September 19              4.75 hours with 2.5

September 20              4 hours with 2.5

September 21              Fourth Verapamil Treatment and 2 hours with 2.5 

September 22              2 hours with 2.5

September 23              4 hours with 2.5

September 24              2 hours with 2.5

September 25              4 hours with 2.5

September 26              2 hours with 2.5

September 27              Decided to Stop AndroPenis because of Wobbly Head

October 4                    Fifth Verapamil Treatment

Doctor said my wobbly head was all in my head. 

October 5                    AndroPenis Base plus 2 cm for 1 hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday except when I travel.

October 14                  Changed to one hour plus per day at Base with 2 cm.  Keeps it loose.  

This turned out to be not enough. My penis started to shrink. Increased hours.

October 18                  Sixth Verapamil Treatment. Final treatment of first round.

Oct 25 – Nov 30         Travel: Los Angeles, Paris, Baltimore. Not much with AndroPenis.

December 2                 Committed to AndroPenis, Base plus 2 cm, 4 hours per day.

December 6                 AndroPenis Base plus 2.5 cm 4 hours per day. 

December 21               Andropenis Base plus 3 cm 4 hours per day. 

L-Arginine supplements taken before bed each night to increase the formation of Nitric oxide (NO). This dilates arteries for increased blood flow. I took only one 1000 mg tablet. I am very sensitive to drugs. Increased exercise. Stretched, daily, the crotch flexors to increase blood flow. 

YEAR 2

January 5                     AndroPenis Base plus 3.5 cm. Bottleneck is quite severe.

January 7                     Curvature Assessment. Appointment with Dr. Hellman. He said to stop using AndroPenis and change to a VED (Vacuum Erection Device). 

January 20                   VED one time per day. 10 Minutes. Penis Head tilting upward.

                                    Peyronie’s pain is much less.

March 1                       Added AndroPenis, Base plus 3 cm, two hours per day when possible.

March 4                       Felt AndroPenis was making my penis too crazed-stretched. Decided to use the AndroPenis Base plus 3 cm only when feeling tight and shortened.

March 21                     Stopped Drinking.

March 22                     AndroPenis Base plus 3 cm 2 hours per evening. 

VED for ten minutes in the morning. Fighting the upward candy cane shape.

April 11                       Stopped all VED and stretching. Went to Dr. Hellman for a check-up because my penis was bending upward.

April 27                       Curvature Assessment

May 2                          Second Round, First Verapamil Treatment

May 10                        Dr. Hellman advice: AndroPenis, Base plus 3 cm, 2 hours morning, 2 hours evening. Up to six months.

May 16                        Second Round, Second Verapamil Treatment

May 23                        AndroPenis, Base plus 3.5 cm 2 hours morning, 2 hours evening, daily.

June 3                          Second Round, Third Verapamil Treatment

June 7                          AndroPenis Base plus 4 cm 2 hours morning, 2 hours evening, daily.

June 13                        Second Round, Fourth Verapamil Treatment

June 24                        AndroPenis, Base plus 4.5 cm 2 hours morning, 2 hours evening, daily.

June 27                        Second Round, Fifth Verapamil Treatment

July 12                        Second Round, Sixth and Final Verapamil Treatment

August 1                     Andropenis, Base plus 5 cm, 2 hours morning, 2 hours evening, daily.

August 22                   AndroPenis, Base plus 5.5 cm, 2 hours morning 2 hours evening, daily.

September 27              AndroPenis, Base plus 6 cm, 2 hours morning, 2 hours evening, daily.

October 14                  Final appointment with Dr. Hellman

October 19                  VED restarted, 10 minutes per day.

October 28                  AndroPenis, Base plus 6 cm, 2 hours in the morning, and VED 10 minutes each night.

November 19              AndroPenis, Base plus 6.5 cm. Same schedule of AndroPenis and VED, Continues into year Three.

1 tablet of L-Arginine, 1000 mg, taken before bed each night.

  

YEAR 3

February 28                 Last Phonecall with Dr. Hellman. “Do two hours per day of traction with the AndroPenis and two (or one) fifteen-minute vacuum pump per day. Do not go up and down. Bring it up and leave it up for fifteen minutes. If in three months you see improvement with the hourglass ring, continue. If not, then stop. Repeat the reassessment every three months.” 

March 20                     AndroPenis up to Base plus 7 cm.

June 29                        AndroPenis up to  Base plus 7.5 cm.

October 11                  AndroPenis up to Base plus 8 cm.

November 3                Ejaculate is now able to fully exit. Urethra must be following a much straighter path. Penis is almost completely straight. Hourglass shape still one-third of the way up from the base.

YEAR 4

April 1                         Almost back to original shape. Just a very tiny bit of hourglass, some upward tilt

April 6                         AndroPenis is up to Base plus 8.5 cm. Note: Added 8.5 cm total to initial 8.4. A total of 16.9 cm which is 6.5 inches.  Added .5 cm to AndroPenis up to 8.5 cm (added on 8.5 total to initial 8.4—so 16.9 cm total) The whole device, including Base, is at 16.9 cm, which is 6.5 inches. 

April 27                       Started drinking again. (Blame France.)

December 6                 Xiaflex is approved by the F.D.A. for treatment of Peyronie’s disease.

YEAR 5

April 3                         AndroPenis, Base plus 9 cm. TOTAL: 17.4 cm = 6.85 inches. VED a few times each week. Penis still a bit curved. Not awful. Some constriction. Stretches of the crotch. This regimen is getting me past it.

December 31               Continued with the AndroPenis 17.4 cm length and occasional VED from April 3 until December 31 upon which I stopped because my penis was almost fully straight and my urethra had experienced enough strain.  No more treatment of any kind. I go through periods where I still use the AndroPenis if I am feeling any tightening.

YEARS 6 – 9

                                    On and off with penis stretcher. Usually one hour each morning. Wrote the final drafts of Bent But Not Broken. 

YEAR 10

March 15                     Bent But Not Broken is released.

July 2                          Consultation with U.C.L.A. urologist, leading to Xiaflex treatment.

July 31                        Curvature Assessment

September 16              Xiaflex treatment 1A

September 19              Xiaflex treatment 1B

October 28                  Xiaflex treatment 2A

November 4                Xiaflex treatment 2B

December 16               Xiaflex treatment 3A

December 19               Xiaflex treatment 3B

YEAR 11

January 27                   Xiaflex treatment 4A

January 30                   Xiaflex treatment 4B

Everything is basically back to normal, just a bit different from the original version. Xiaflex took care of most of the final constriction. E.D. pills (Sildenafil) are necessary for important occasions but not always. I have moved onto other writing and projects. But I am always here to help.

                                                                                    

Bent But Not Broken is available in print, e-book and audiobook formats where all books 

are sold. Links for purchase can be found at Doncummings.net or simply Google Bent But Not Broken.

No one ever died from Peyronie’s disease. Keep moving forward. Your penis is worth it.   

Published by Heliotrope Books

Cover Design by Chip Kidd

“Cummings’ skills as a writer are apparent from the beginning. His prose is effortlessly clever, finding the entertaining medium between lyricism and sass. The frankness with which he discusses his problem, the treatment, and his sex life makes for an oddly shocking book—one rarely reads quite so much about penises, as central as they often are to literature. He manages to demystify and destigmatize Peyronie’s, which though obscure is not completely uncommon. More than that, he makes the most of an undignified opportunity to examine his own masculinity.”

        KIRKUS REVIEWS

                                                                                                                                                           

The Water Tribe Extended through February 16

Hello Friends, Just three more performances of The Water Tribe. Get your TIX soon on the night/day of your choice. Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th @ 8 and Sunday the 16th @ 2. It runs 90 minutes. There's a discount code, so send me a message if you'd like that. The actors are out-of-control brave and I'm so proud of them, our director, Tricia Small, and the entire creative team. We are certainly closing this Sunday, so last chance to come down to VS. on Pico. Love to see you there. Happy Valentine's Day. Love is all there is ... Yes? Don   -- The Water Tribe is one of the strangest plays I've ever seen, a study in insanity, but it'll be a long time before I forget it. --Willard Manus, TotalTheater Alexandra Daniels, Jon Joseph Gentry, and Jayne Taini all give striking performances. --Matthew Robinson, LATheatrebites You simply can't take your eyes away from its hot mess of a female protagonist or Hannah Prichard's tornado of a lead performance. For those willing to put up with a whole lot of crazy, The Water Tribe makes for one wild ride. --Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA Performed with stellar attention by Hannah Prichard and performed by the equally compelling Christopher Reiling...it's a wild ride, and much like a roller coaster, you feel both a mix of relief and nostalgia the moment it's over. I highly recommend this play. --Matthew Robinson, LATheatrebites Cummings tills the writer’s soil exposing an unearthed field, the barren aridity of lost souls, and the underbelly of civilization is on full display, which at times makes the audience writhe in their seats.  Sometimes it is hard to watch as this part of humanity collapses into ruin. The original work of art is certainly theatrical and something to ponder long after you leave the theatre. Run! And take someone you think is living on the edge. You'll both be enlightened. --Joe Straw #9   The Water Tribe Claudia is young, parentless, minimally employed, and almost without family or friends but she remains upbeat about her future and confident in her quest to form a personal tribe for herself and her boyfriend Johnny. But Johnny has problems of his own. He has launched into adulthood but still struggles to cut the cord from his concerned mother while searching for a connection to his long-absent father. As the few people Claudia has in her life begin to fall away and the problems in her relationship are laid bare, she teeters on the brink of catastrophe in this searing, darkly funny tragicomedy about the critical importance of community, identity, and home.     Buy Your Tix Here

Bent AudioBook, The Water Tribe, & Zombies

Read About them here.

Authors in the Afternoon Play You Don't Know My Life!

Now, from Dennis Hensley's famous podcast, Dennis Anyone? 

Listen to the podcast: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/11017433

Buy the Game: www.youdontknowmylife.com
(It's fun and funny and it will get you away from your screen for a while, to hang out with your friends.)

And sure!, buy all four of the books below.


And now, the word from Dennis Hensley: 

Dennis heads to his friend Don Cummings' place in Hollywood to play You Don't Know My Life! with four up-for-anything authors. Vanessa McGrady's book is called Rock Needs River: A Memoir About a Very Open Adoption. Career coach Barbara Deutsch wrote a book about communication called Open Up for Shut Up: How to Talk Your Way Into or Out of Anything. August McLaughlin's book is called Girl Boner: The Good Girl's Guide to Sexual Empowerment. She also has a podcast of the same name. And finally, our gracious host Don Cummings, who Dennis interviewed earlier this year, wrote the memoir Bent But Not Broken about his odyssey with Peyronie's Disease. The questions they play have to do with everything from breakups to teen idols to good deeds from strangers to riding in an elevator with Rush Limbaugh. There's also a story involving a tarp and a rainstorm that's so romantic it should be turned into a Hallmark movie. www.youdontknowmylife.com

The Books:

https://www.thebarbaradeutschapproach.com/

http://vanessamcgrady.com/rock-needs-river/

https://augustmclaughlin.com/

https://www.doncummings.net/

A Body of Work: The Tour

Hello Friends.

On my book tour for Bent But Not Broken, I was lucky to have a reading in Minneapolis sponsored by the incredible literary magazine Rain Taxi. (I urge you to subscribe. It's smart stuff. Cool stuff. The editors, unlike the telephone call to Ukraine, are perfect.)

And now, published in Rain Taxi, is a piece I wrote: A Body of Work: The Tour. If I could write a whole book about my flailing penis, I could certainly write a short piece about the rest of my old body. Have a read!

A Body of Work: The Tour

***

In other enjoyable news: The audiobook of Bent But Not Broken has been recorded, edited, mastered, quality controlled, uploaded and is almost ready for purchase on Amazon and all the other places. It was all sort of exhausting. I mean, I like to talk and I have been spotted acting and singing over the years, but nothing takes as much stamina as reading a book out loud for two days. The trick was to really go word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. Sounds logical, but you really have to not get ahead of yourself. The result was solid, recorded at Literati Audio. The pic below is not from stock footage, but from the studio where I recorded. It was sleek. These days, they can do anything. Except maybe stop the greedy guys from committing endless crimes-of-the-climate. We shall overcome. Right? Say yes. (The ultimate sin: Greed. It really encompasses all the other ones.)

Happy Holidays Soon!

Happy Zombie Apocalypse, Love, Los Angeles

Dear Friends,

If you are looking for something ghoulish to do this Halloween season, why not read about how Zombies are taking over Los Angeles?

Screenplay by Don Cummings and Bradford Brillowski.
Illustrations by Peter Landau.

Follow us on Instagram @OhtheHorrorLA

OhTheHorrorLA on Instagram

And you can read the whole thing we have so far (Peter has illustrated up to page 30 of the screenplay) from the start in chronological order:

Oh The Horror from the Start


Get going!  Learn how to survive the Zombie Apocalypse. But don't forget how to have a little fun along the way. (Sometimes, a martini in one hand and a baseball bat in the other can really make your night!)

Here's a fetid taste:

Happy Halloween!

Let's Keep Small Los Angeles Theaters Going

Let's get right to it! This is an Ask to keep small theaters alive in Los Angeles. I am committed to raising $5000 for Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles. You can simply click This Link and dive right in! But maybe you want to read my spiel/plea below. Please help. $2 would be easy, right?  That's always a choice.

Thank you.  :)

And Now This:

These days, I give a lot of thought to what makes people feel good. I don't believe it's about sitting in front of our screens: scrolling past trolls, feeding on feeds, watching the dirty words fly by on Twitter. We would all be better off putting a parrot-cage-cover over our computers and cell phones. Then walk out the door. Find a person. Anyone really. And just sit there with them to see what comes up. 

This is why I like being a playwright. I can set up a world and then people can come enjoy it. Alive. With each other, with as little technical interference as possible.

As cities get more populated and real estate becomes more scarce, one of the things to get crushed are small performance spaces. But Ensemble Studio Theatre LA (EST/LA), in Atwater Village, has been able to continue to thrive because of our strong development programs, the commitment to our community and because of people like you.

My latest play, The Water Tribe, developed in the Playwrights Unit of EST/LA, is having a full production, co-produced by EST/LA along with VS. Theatre Company, another great, thriving Los Angeles institution. It opens in January and we are in full pre-production for what we hope will be a smashing run.  

Here's a bit about this sad, funny play:

The Water Tribe

Claudia and Johnny are intelligent but without intellectual or social context. They want to get married but they need a tribe to witness their very existence. Claudia is an orphan with a cousin, Sonia, who does nothing to help Claudia secure her future. Johnny is half an orphan, with his mother, Sydelle, doing what she can to be loving. Brian, a former co-worker of Claudia, provides a measure of balance and grounded advice. But when things go wrong with this new tribe, Claudia turns to give Johnny what she thinks he craves: something savage, primitive, and loving. When that fails, well, you'll have to come see what happens to them. Nearly obliterated by their vulnerable circumstances, Claudia and Johnny fight to find connection and home.

Would you be interested in supporting EST/LA in supporting this piece of work? This act of generosity would not only help this particular playwright and this particular production, but also all the other playwrights, actors, directors, designers and magicians EST/LA supports along the way.

Small theaters never have enough seats to translate into enough ticket sales to cover the cost of productions. We are supported by: California Arts Council, Hollywood Foreign Press, California Community Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and The Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of of Los Angeles. But the slices of these pies do not add up to ever bake a whole cake! (I will mix my dessert metaphors if I have to!) Your donation will help to provide more than fifty percent of the budget to produce this play. And if this campaign succeeds, we hope it will raise a generous surplus--enough to have the long term effect of keeping thriving theaters like EST/LA open and vital and able to produce plays like The Water Tribe.

This Link will bring you to a page to sign up for your commitment.

I believe you are going to enjoy The Water Tribe and everything else that we have going on at EST/LA. The workshops, the outreach, the community building, and most importantly, the people. Thanks for reading. Any questions? Please ask. And have a great day.

Sincerely,

Don Cummings

www.doncummings.net

Advocate: How Does a Gay Man Deal With A Disfiguring Penis Condition?

READ

Thank you Diane Anderson-Minshall and Brooklyn Social Media.

Subscribe to The Advocate.

Listopia

Hello Friends,

If you are a Goodreads member on Amazon, perhaps you would like to help me to help men with their troubles. And for your time, I will give you a gift of Tolstoy at the end of it all.

The internet, in all its open beauty, needs to be organized. So Goodreads has Listopia to organize its many books so if, say, you like cookbooks about meat and fish, there is a list on Listopia called "Best Cookbooks About Meat and Fish" and you can add books to that list for others to choose.

Which leads me to Peyronies disease, gay people and Bent But Not Broken.

If you want to help more men, and the women, men and other gender categories that want to help these men, straight, gay or otherwise, with their Peyronie's disease...or if you just think it's a good idea to get people to read a book about facing the roughness of the occasional curve ball tossed in life, please get Bent But Not Broken on these Goodreads Listopia lists, if you have the time.

The 9 steps:

Get Bent But Not Broken on your Goodreads shelf

1. You need to be a member of Goodreads. (Amazon's literary deep state.) Easy enough. Many people are. If not, you can easily join for free, here: Goodreads Signup.

2. Sign into your Goodreads account.

3. In the Upper toolbar, in "Search Books," type in Bent But Not Broken.

4. When the book comes up, there will be a green button just below it, Want to Read. Click that.

5. Okay, now Bent But Not Broken is on your shelf of books in Goodreads.

Put Bent But Not Broken on these Listopia Lists

6. Click on the first link of the 8 links below. Follow steps 7 & 8 once that link is open. 

7. Click ADD BOOKS TO THIS LIST, upper right.

8. Next to Bent But Not Broken, to the right, click VOTE FOR THIS BOOK.

9. Okay, you quickly finished one. Now repeat steps 6 - 9 for the rest of the links.  (Because you have O.C.D., because the internet controls us all, because this is how you help people these days, God help us all. Oh yes.)

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/23683.Best_Gay_Memoirs?fbclid=IwAR0RdTsM7CW48fi9_xgBiGTVduOtDFiuwx6d7lHg4ljv-_gdcP4jwc6QHcI

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/137747.Best_Books_About_Peyronie_s_Disease?fbclid=IwAR18HRXpDihLYD5K3MFB_s8LwRoaBOuXytdSs0w9h9Qjmv2lqsdD8rCfw9U

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/12513.Best_LGBT_Humor

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/12544.Best_Gay_Romance_with_Abused_Traumatized_Characters

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3878.Best_Gay_Romance_With_A_Character_s_Who_Has_A_Disability

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/926.Best_LGBTQIA_literature

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4921.The_Best_Humorous_Gay_Romances

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5547.Favorite_Gay_Couples

Thanks. You never know whose life you might be changing. I leave you with a story by Leo Tolstoy. I love this story. I hope you will, too. I'm not a believer like end-of-his-days-Leo-Tolstoy, but I believe in this story. It's worth the time.

What Men Live By -- Leo Tolstoy