LEG : the story of a limb and the boy who grew from it

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     “ Riotously funny . . . [Marshall's] writing brings to mind early David Sedaris . . . Rare is the book that makes me both laugh out loud and shed actual tears, but Leg  made me do both.” — BOOKPAGE , Starred Review     “One hell of an entertaining book.” — BUZZFEED , Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of 2023    “Laugh-out-loud funny. Greg Marshall is one helluva storyteller.” —ISAAC FITZGERALD, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts     “A strange, smutty, hilarious, beautiful, compassionate, provoking, big-hearted, sharp-tongued, original, brilliant memoir. I hated to see it end.” ―ELIZABETH McCRACKEN, National Book Award finalist and author of The Hero of This Book     “One of the most exciting new voices in non-fiction.” ―RYAN O’CONNELL, author of  Just by Looking at Him    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, a diagnosis that has been kept from him since birth. (His parents always told him he just had "tight tendons" and left it at that.) 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 startlingly original 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.  A hilarious and poignant memoir grappling with family, disability, and coming of age in two closetsas a gay man and as a man living with cerebral palsy Greg Marshalls early years were pretty bizarre. Rewind the VHS tapes (this is the nineties) and youll see a lopsided teenager limping across a high school stage, or in a wheelchair after leg surgeries, pondering why hes 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 youll find Marshall happily settled into his life as a gay man only to discover hes been living in another closet his whole life: he has cerebral palsy. Here, in the hot mess of it all, lies Greg Marshalls 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 cant change, a moving portrait of a family in crisis, and a tale of resilience of spirit. In Marshalls deft hands, we see a story both personal and universalof being young and wanting the world, even when the world doesnt feel like yours to want.