ezravarley's review
5.0
God this was SO beautiful. I can’t even explain the incredible impact this had on me. I’ve never seen myself in a historical context, ever. This was amazing, funny, devastating and beautifully put together. I’m lost for words.
smallredboy's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
I am inconsolable. What a man, what a chatacter, what an icon - you will always be dearly missed, Lou.
scrow1022's review
3.0
This was a challenging book for me. There is a lot of valuable history, and moments that I, as a trans man, definitely resonated with (though a lot that I also did not). But there were also lots of moments of thinking, "Wow, that is not okay" (behavior or how he talks about people).
Lou didn't get the chance to select material for himself, though he did intend to publish his journals at some point. And these were journals, very raw, not memoir. So seeing very private thoughts and moments, also from a very different time. I'm grateful for the opportunity to see these despite my discomfort with how he was personally.
Lou didn't get the chance to select material for himself, though he did intend to publish his journals at some point. And these were journals, very raw, not memoir. So seeing very private thoughts and moments, also from a very different time. I'm grateful for the opportunity to see these despite my discomfort with how he was personally.
ayetaebae's review
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
I love this collection of Lou’s experiences and reflections. I found myself laughing and screaming and rooting for him like I would a friend. Such a thoughtful and rich life. Sad it ended so painfully.
thepermageek's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.75
As with all diary/journal/emphemera type writing, there are some misses in here (which is why it didn’t score a Purrrfect 5), but, on the whole, this is a beautiful collection of first draft thoughts by a beautiful soul.
It had me literally tearing up & laughing out loud sometimes within minutes of each other
As a queer trans woman myself, Lou Sullivan helped make my existence possible. I honestly don’t know where male-to-LGB-females or female-to-GB-males and all the Enby folks out there would be without him.
Only shame is that we lost him waaaaay too soon…as of this review (summer 2023) Lou would have just turned 72.
It had me literally tearing up & laughing out loud sometimes within minutes of each other
As a queer trans woman myself, Lou Sullivan helped make my existence possible. I honestly don’t know where male-to-LGB-females or female-to-GB-males and all the Enby folks out there would be without him.
Only shame is that we lost him waaaaay too soon…as of this review (summer 2023) Lou would have just turned 72.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
judereadsbooks's review
4.75
My first conclusion from this book is that Lou was a very horny gent, and my second is that this is one of my favorite books of the year and should be a seminal book of queer literature. Lou has an lively, amusing voice and makes many quotidian scenarios little odysseys. Most of the book flows like enthusiastic water, winding and enjoyable. Still, there are moments of sobering honesty. Moments where Lou's confidence and swagger wain mean all the more in a story of a man who had such a clear idea of who he was. I can't quite state how important of a book this is. It is a moment in time, a righting of wrongs, an illumination of the brushed-under-rug. It is a life.