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* A New and Noteworthy Memory of 2023 Selected by * Washington Post * USA Today * Esquire * Buzzfeed * Debutiful * LitHub * and more! *
A hilarious and poignant memoir grappling with family, disability, and coming of age in two closets—as a gay man and as a man living with cerebral palsy
“Leg is intimate (and I mean that in all ways), insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny.” —Scott Simon, NPR’s “Weekend Edition”
“A riotous new memoir . . . A hilarious yet loving account, this book has charm for days.” —People Magazine
Greg Marshall’s early years were pretty bizarre. Rewind the VHS tapes (this is the ’90s) and you’ll see a lopsided teenager limping across a high school stage, or in a wheelchair after leg surgeries, pondering why he’s 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 you’ll find Marshall happily settled into his life as a gay man only to discover he’s been living in another closet his whole life: he has cerebral palsy. Here, in the hot mess of it all, lies Greg Marshall’s wellspring of wit and wisdom.
Extraordinarily funny and insightful, Leg is packed with outrageous stories of a singular childhood. It is also a unique examination of what it means to transform when there are parts of yourself you can’t change, a moving portrait of a family in crisis, and a tale of resilience of spirit. In Marshall’s deft hands, we see a story both personal and universal—of being young and wanting the world, even when the world doesn’t feel like yours to want.