Product Description

Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it.

Here, Kate bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival for navigating an often cruel world. A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World is a much-needed unconventional approach to teenage suicide prevention for marginalized youth who want to stay on the edge, but alive.

Hello, Cruel World features a catalog of 101 Alternatives to Suicide that range from the playful (Moisturize), to the irreverent (Disbelieve the Binary), to the highly controversial (Get Laid. Please). Designed to encourage readers to give themselves permission to unleash their hearts' harmless desires, the book has only one directive: "Don't be mean." It is this guiding principle that brings its reader on a self-validating journey, which forges wholly new paths toward a resounding decision to choose life.

Tenderly intimate and unapologetically edgy, Kate is the radical role model, the affectionate best friend, and the guiding mentor all in one kind and spirited package.

A celebrated pioneer for the LGBTQI community, transsexual author and performance artist, Kate Bornstein is the author of the wildly successful books My Gender Workbook and Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and The Rest of Us.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161861 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781583227206
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
A celebrated pioneer for the LGBTQI community, transexual author and performance artist,Kate Bornstein, offers a pivotal critique of the gender binary that has become a staple in the study of Gender and Sexuality. Kate currently lives with her partner Barbara Carrellas in Spanish Harlem, New York City.

Customer Reviews

Thanks Kate
I'm not a teen, but I am a long-time freak in the middle of what I sincerely hope is the worst set of circumstances I will face in my life. I am losing someone I love more than just about anything to a very slow and painful disease.

I haven't felt hope in nine months. This book gave me hope.

Kate Takes on Suicide and Wins!
Kate first shook up my life in 1994 with her mind-blowing "Gender Outlaw"...12 years ago, she totally reframed the way we can (and should) look at gender--not an easy subject to grapple with.

NOW she's taken on an even MORE complex issue and made it accessible to mere mortals!

Kate's paid some serious dues and it shows in this book. Her *life* experience shows me that things can get pretty bad, but that we can make them better, and even make them wonderful.

Her take on how to NOT off yourself is so enlightening, and fun...and PRACTICAL too. Life's more enjoyable because she's written this book and has shared it with the world.

Thanks to "Hello, Cruel World", I can now moisturize *while* watch the panda cams..(Read the book and you'll get it)..

If you have no other reasons to stay alive, order this book today...It'll be worth the wait!

REAL-DEAL HELP
This book could save your life. I wish it had been around when I was a suicidal seventh-grader. One of the readers at Amazon.com says, "Every high school library should carry this book!" and that's probably the best possible endorsement. This is a wonderful book.

Hello, Cruel World is the best depiction I have seen of the real world of troubled teens. It accurately locates the bully as the most common cause of self-esteem issues that can take years, even decades, to resolve. Kate's only rule for readers is "don't be mean," and that is certainly the most obvious characteristic of every bully I've ever faced. Kate's winning personality and irresistible sense of humor prevail over the heavy topic matter. Her writing is inspired, passionate, and empathic. There is little if anything that goes uncovered here. (Well, okay, she includes "sex worker" but omits "drug dealer" and "rock and roller" from her list of freak-admissible careers in alternative 34, "Sing for your Supper." I mean, if you're going to include the Unholy Trinity, you might as well go all the way, right?)

Actually, my only real quibble with this book (and it is a quibble) is that I thought this book might be even "safer" if the cover were more discreet. I admit that it's a bit busy for my taste, but perhaps a plain cover would have been even better for the sake of the kids who might have to sneak around with this book.