Pageboy
A Memoir
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3.8 • 188 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2023"
A TIME Magazine "100 Must-Read Books of 2023"
A Washington Post "50 Notable Works of Nonfiction"
An Autostraddle "Best Queer Books of 2023"
“Vivid…Moving…Juicy” – NPR
"Eloquent and enthralling..." —Washington Post
"Searing, deeply moving, and incredibly poignant... This isn’t simply a book on what it means to be trans, it’s about what it means to be human." —Alok Vaid-Menon
Full of intimate stories, from chasing down secret love affairs to battling body image and struggling with familial strife, Pageboy is a love letter to the power of being seen. With this evocative and lyrical debut, Oscar-nominated star Elliot Page captures the universal human experience of searching for ourselves and our place in this complicated world.
“Can I kiss you?” It was two months before the world premiere of Juno, and Elliot Page was in his first ever queer bar. The hot summer air hung heavy around him as he looked at her. And then it happened. In front of everyone. A previously unfathomable experience. Here he was on the precipice of discovering himself as a queer person, as a trans person. Getting closer to his desires, his dreams, himself, without the repression he’d carried for so long. But for Elliot, two steps forward had always come with one step back.
With Juno’s massive success, Elliot became one of the world’s most beloved actors. His dreams were coming true, but the pressure to perform suffocated him. He was forced to play the part of the glossy young starlet, a role that made his skin crawl, on and off set. The career that had been an escape out of his reality and into a world of imagination was suddenly a nightmare.
As he navigated criticism and abuse from some of the most powerful people in Hollywood, a past that snapped at his heels, and a society dead set on forcing him into a binary, Elliot often stayed silent, unsure of what to do. Until enough was enough.
The Oscar-nominated star who captivated the world with his performance in Juno finally shares his story in a groundbreaking and inspiring memoir about love, family, fame — and stepping into who we truly are with strength, joy and connection.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When Elliot Page came out as transgender in 2020, we wondered about the private journey behind that very public moment. Page has appeared on screen since age 10, and in this unguarded memoir, he talks candidly about how he first learned to stifle and conceal his true identity as a young child in Nova Scotia. What’s even more heartbreaking is hearing about the knock-on effects of Page’s upbringing, which conditioned him to stay just as silent as he dealt with stalkers, sexual assault, and an eating disorder in the years to come. Still, this isn’t just a trauma story. Page opens up about the tremendous, overwhelming joy that came with slowly learning to accept himself and live authentically. Pageboy is a testament to the life-saving importance of being yourself.
Customer Reviews
Revealing
This book came across my news feed and looked interesting. I thank Elliot for letting me in on his life and what’s it’s like being trans.. and his journey. I now have a different attitude and perspective on the trans community..
Story that needs to be told, but…
I wish this important story had a less disjointed feel. It was hard to follow at times.
Interesting
Great book! I don’t have a ton of reference points for Elliot’s previous work and I also haven’t read a book about the trans experience before, so this was a really great entry. It makes you understand just how Elliot’s transition came to be and how it was necessary and life-saving.