DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Leg

The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It

Greg Marshall author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Orion Publishing Co

Published:15th Jun '23

Currently unavailable, our supplier has not provided us a restock date

Leg cover

* A MOST-ANTICIPATED SUMMER READ SELECTED BY * Washington Post *Buzzfeed * Bustle * The Advocate * LitHub * Bookriot * Electric Literature * 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
'One hell of an entertaining book.' - BUZZFEED, Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of 2023
'Greg Marshall is one helluva storyteller . . . bright, bold, and beauitful.' -ISAAC FITZGERALD
'A strange, smutty, hilarious, beautiful, compassionate, provoking, big-hearted, sharp-tongued, original, brilliant memoir. I hated to see it end.' - ELIZABETH McCRACKEN


Greg Marshall's early years were pretty bizarre. Rewind the VHS tapes (this is the nineties) 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.

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 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.

This hilarious and wholly unique memoir by Greg Marshall tackles many subjects: disability, family relationships, and coming out (twice). With signature wit and humor, Marshall takes material that could be morbid in the hands of a lesser writer, and dares his readers not to laugh. He knows he's had an unconventional life, but there's no self-pity here. Instead, he embraces the absurdity of it all and leans into it, making one hell of an entertaining book. * Buzzfeed, Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book of 2023 *
Smart and heartfelt ... His honesty and clarity in writing about disability makes this debut one to watch. * LitHub, Most Anticipated Books of 2023 *
Greg Marshall's Leg has all the ingredients of an addictive memoir. But what separates this book from the pack is Marshall's rich and rare perspective navigating the world as a queer disabled person. Marshall delves into his unique life experiences to illustrate the all-too-relatable struggle to be your authentic self and he does it with unflinching honesty. He's one of the most exciting new voices in non-fiction. I could get lost in his brilliant brain forever. * RYAN O’CONNELL, author of Just by Looking at Him *

ISBN: 9781398716346

Dimensions: 220mm x 140mm x 30mm

Weight: 420g

304 pages