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Leg
Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It | Greg Marshall
4 posts | 3 read
A hilarious and poignant memoir grappling with family, disability, and coming of age in two closetsas a gay man and as a man living with cerebral palsy Riotously funny . . . [Marshall's] writing brings to mind early David Sedaris . . . Rare is the book that makes me both laugh out loud and shed actual tears, but Leg made me do both. BOOKPAGE, Starred Review One hell of an entertaining book. BUZZFEED, Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of 2023 Laugh-out-loud funny. Greg Marshall is one helluva storyteller. ISAAC FITZGERALD, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts A strange, smutty, hilarious, beautiful, compassionate, provoking, big-hearted, sharp-tongued, original, brilliant memoir. I hated to see it end. ?ELIZABETH McCRACKEN, National Book Award finalist and author of The Hero of This Book One of the most exciting new voices in non-fiction. ?RYAN OCONNELL, author of Just by Looking at Him Greg Marshalls early years were pretty bizarre. Rewind the VHS tapes (this is the nineties) and youll see a lopsided teenager limping across a high school stage, or in a wheelchair after leg surgeries, pondering why hes crushing on half of the Utah Jazz. Add to this home video footage a mom clacking away at her newspaper column between chemos, a dad with ALS, and a cast of foulmouthed siblings. Fast forward the tape and youll find Marshall happily settled into his life as a gay man only to discover hes been living in another closet his whole life: He has cerebral palsy, a diagnosis that has been kept from him since birth. (His parents always told him he just had "tight tendons" and left it at that.) Here, in the hot mess of it all, lies Greg Marshalls wellspring of wit and wisdom. Leg is an extraordinarily funny and insightful memoir from a daring new voice. Packed with outrageous stories of a singular childhood, it is also a startlingly original examination of what it means to transform when there are parts of yourself you cant change, a moving portrait of a family in crisis, and a tale of resilience of spirit. In Marshalls deft hands, we see a story both personal and universalof being young and wanting the world, even when the world doesnt feel like yours to want.
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Pickpick

An interesting memoir from a Gay-Disabled man who grew up with lots of necessary humor in Utah with 2 ill parents. A ton in here about the use of dark humor and the value of family when health issues run the family's life. The stories can be a bit crude - teen boys and sex - but each chapter holds the language and emotions of each stage of Marshall's life.
I found this endearing and funny.

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 2mo
30 likes2 comments
blurb
ChaoticMissAdventures
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#WeeklyForecast it is a hectic week here, my best friend is getting a double mastectomy and I am on morning care duty for her and getting her daughter to the bus. I am hoping to have some down time while people sleep to finish Saying It Loud, Babel, and the tagged audiobook. Then to start Malcolm X and All The Lovers In The Night.
Happy reading week everyone.

Ruthiella That is a stressful week! Best wishes to you and your friend . ❤️ 3mo
TheBookgeekFrau All the best to you and your friend 🙏🏼💕 3mo
dabbe Wishing a speedy healing to your friend. 🩷💜❤️ 3mo
ChaoticMissAdventures Thanks all! It has been a crash course in the American medical world and it has been rough. Hoping to sail through this week. 3mo
29 likes4 comments
quote
ChaoticMissAdventures
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"With no one to win over or impress dad was free to enjoy himself."

"This was no longer the city of lights, it was the City where dad had more fun than you"

The chapter on Marshall's school trip to Paris with his dad chaperoning is quintessentially teen. Hilarious and dripping in anxiety and self doubt.

So good! And makes me very glad to be past this phase.

review
Mpcacher
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Pickpick

Marshall grew up in Utah in a large loving family. His mom battled cancer for many years and his dad had ALS. Born prematurely, he was told his limp and many surgeries were as a result of tight tendons, only to find out in his thirties that he has cerebral palsy. Along the way he also came out as gay. This memoir is sometimes humorous, often filled with explicit honesty, and also at times heartbreaking. I enjoyed it. 3.75/5 stars.