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Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Classism
Minor: Sexual content
Audiobook is delightfully read by Mama Ru.
Honestly, I think that this book would have been a lot drier in physical format - as Rupaul’s narration distilled emotion that was somewhat lacking in his actual words.
I quite enjoyed listening to his earlier life story. And while I am 13 years his junior, I am enough a product of the 80’s + 90’s that hearing about certain cultural phenomenon gave strong throwback vibes.
I also resonated with a lot of Ru’s emotional and trauma-fuelled turmoil, resultant in a reliance on dissociation. Despite a completely different lifestyle (outdoor, mountain and ocean sports, with alcohol and pot, rather than the nightclub scene), I saw my younger self in many of his personal transformations, realizations and tendency towards avoidance. Ultimately learning who I truly am, loads of therapy and intentional sobriety has also completely turned my life around. It was somewhat emotional to go on this journey with Ru.
And yet, I feel like there is still a barrier between Rupaul and the reader/listener. I feel like some parts of this book read like a daily diary - denoting what happened without any real insight. There is a distinct lack of true vulnerability. Like, the disclosing the use of drugs, alcohol, sex and longing for love rather than attention is simply a means to say how things happened - as opposed to why or how his innermost dreams were disjointed from his actuality. I would have liked to hear more about how he eventually found peace or a sense of homecoming within his body and gender expression. I was surprised how little grief was expressed in his loss of those closest to him. Something deeply human was missing from the accounting. And yet the story was good and I got a lot out of the parts that I resonated and empathized with.
I also feel like the story ended on a weird note. It was surprising to me that the book ends with Ru being separated from the man that he has ultimately spent a great part of his life with and married. Just odd.
All-in-all, this book was a really good listen. It was just lacking a bit of the depth that I expected.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Mental illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Classism