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abbie_ 's review for:
Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It
by Greg Marshall
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Coincidentally the second book I’ve read this year by a gay man with cerebral palsy, but I didn’t gel with this memoir as much as I did Just By Looking at Him. A few of my issues were the same - Mitchell is cis and white, middle class and sometimes a little unaware / blasé about his privilege. Some of his quips, mostly in the past, missed the mark in terms of internalised ableism re his sister’s neurodivergence (wanting to find out what’s ‘wrong’ with her) as well as a rape ‘quip’ that was just… no.
Mitchell has a large than life family who have had more than their fair share of medical misfortune. I liked the way they all had each other’s backs, through his mother’s seemingly endless chemo to his father’s surprise diagnosis with ALS. His dad especially seemed like a wonderful person and I’m glad Mitchell had such a great support system in him.
I feel like a couple of the chapters were unnecessarily stretched out (like his shady boyfriend Kevin - that should have been an online essay at most), while we completely skim over Mitchell meeting his now husband.
But I did appreciate the perspective of a physically disabled gay man, and overall it was an entertaining read.
Mitchell has a large than life family who have had more than their fair share of medical misfortune. I liked the way they all had each other’s backs, through his mother’s seemingly endless chemo to his father’s surprise diagnosis with ALS. His dad especially seemed like a wonderful person and I’m glad Mitchell had such a great support system in him.
I feel like a couple of the chapters were unnecessarily stretched out (like his shady boyfriend Kevin - that should have been an online essay at most), while we completely skim over Mitchell meeting his now husband.
But I did appreciate the perspective of a physically disabled gay man, and overall it was an entertaining read.
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia