{"product_id":"a-queer-and-pleasant-danger-isbn-9780807001837","title":"A Queer and Pleasant Danger","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe stunningly orignial memoir of a nice Jewish boy who left the Church of Scientology to become the lovely lady she is today\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In the early 1970s, a boy from a Conservative Jewish family joined the Church of Scientology. In 1981, that boy officially left the movement and ultimately transitioned into a woman. A few years later, she stopped calling herself a woman—and became a famous gender outlaw.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Gender theorist, performance artist, and author Kate Bornstein is set to change lives with her stunningly original memoir. Wickedly funny and disarmingly honest, this is Bornstein's most intimate book yet, encompassing her early childhood and adolescence, college at Brown, a life in the theater, three marriages and fatherhood, the Scientology hierarchy, transsexual life, LGBTQ politics, and life on the road as a sought-after speaker.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A singular achievement and gift to the generations of queers who consider her our Auntie, and all those who will follow.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Lambda Literary\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Breathless, passionate, and deeply honest, \u003ci\u003eA Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e is a wonderful book. Read it and learn.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Samuel R. Delany, author of \u003ci\u003eDhalgren\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003ePrologue: The Kiss of Death\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 1. Go \u003cbr\u003eChapter 2. The He-Man Woman-Hater’s Club \u003cbr\u003eChapter 3. What Sex Had to Do with It \u003cbr\u003eChapter 4. Size Matters \u003cbr\u003eChapter 5. A SciFi Writer, an Actor, and God Walk into a Bar \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 2\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 6. There’s Nothing Funny about Any of This \u003cbr\u003eChapter 7. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? \u003cbr\u003eChapter 8. Love Was Never Free \u003cbr\u003eChapter 9. Beached \u003cbr\u003eChapter 10. Family Man \u003cbr\u003eChapter 11. All Good Things \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 3\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 12. The Lost Boys \u003cbr\u003eChapter 13. Over the Borderline \u003cbr\u003eChapter 14. Stages of Life \u003cbr\u003eChapter 15. OK, Kid, This Is Where It Gets Complicated \u003cbr\u003eChapter 16. Girl \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEpilogue: Hello, Sweetie \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome Notes on My Scientology Sources \u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments“Brave, emotionally authentic, and riveting.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBitch\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A nervy, expansive memoir from a pioneering gender activist.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A singular achievement and gift to the generations of queers who consider her our Auntie, and all those who will follow.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Lambda Literary\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Disarmingly funny and a pleasure to read . . . I think everyone can gain something from Kate’s honest, brave account.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Feministing.com\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This memoir shines a bright, unflinching light on those reasons and the consequences of living on the far edge of the fringe . . . With the brave, adventurous life she's led, Bornstein gives us a reason to keep on living, too.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBitch Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e blog\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kate Bornstein is brave. She is very, very brave. Her memoir, \u003ci\u003eA Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e, should be located in all three of the LGBT, self-help and biography sections of your local library and bookstores.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eEDGE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This memoir manages to be both wrenchingly transformative and luminously wondrous, a sumptuous literary combination.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePride Source\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eA Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e is not for the faint-hearted, for reasons that become fairly evident (see: sadomasochism), but is ultimately uplifting, hopeful, even joyous.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is a softer, sometimes sorrowful, side of the always-outspoken Kate Bornstein, and I loved it . . . \u003ci\u003eA Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e is a wildly wonderful read.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLong Island Pulse Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Bornstein is hilarious, honest, acerbic, and fearless in her writing . . . \u003ci\u003eQAPD\u003c\/i\u003e is at least three books in one, each of which is a page-turner.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Religion Dispatches\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kate Bornstein's journey from moon-eyed Scientologist to queer icon is harrowing, heartbreaking, and amazing.  This narrative is surely not for the squeamish.  And yet, in the story of a sea-dog named Al who became a trans goddess named Kate we see the messy, unsettling, inspiring struggle of a lady trying—and at last succeeding—to let her own soul be known.  Disturbing and wondrous.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of \u003ci\u003eShe’s Not There\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eI’m Looking Through You\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Breathless, passionate, and deeply honest, \u003ci\u003eA Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e is a wonderful book. Read it and learn.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Samuel R. Delany, author of \u003ci\u003eDhalgren\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“To me, Kate Bornstein is like a mythological figure or a historical literary character such as Orlando or Candide who, by illustrating her struggles, shows the rest of us how to live. This book is destined to become a classic.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Mx Justin Vivian Bond, author of \u003ci\u003eTango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“A Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e is a brave, funny, edgy, and enlightening new memoir. I loved it and learned from it. Kate Bornstein shares her fascinating journey—through gender, Scientology, and more—and it was a thrill to tag along on the ride. This book is unbelievably powerful and affecting. If Kate Bornstein didn't exist, we would have to invent her. But luckily for queers, straights, gender outlaws, and general readers, Bornstein is out and out there.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Dan Savage, author, columnist, and architect of the \u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eIt Gets Better Project”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“There are a number of adjectives that one could use to describe \u003ci\u003eA Queer and Pleasant Danger\u003c\/i\u003e: snarky, funny, anguished, frightening, heartbreaking, brave, honest . . . this is a book that is dangerously appealing.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Gay and Lesbian Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eKate Bornstein\u003c\/b\u003e is a performance artist and playwright who has authored several award-winning books, including \u003ci\u003eGender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and The Rest of Us, My Gender Workbook,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws.\u003c\/i\u003e She has earned two citations of honor from the New York City Council and garnered praise from civil rights groups around the globe. Kate lives in New   York City with her girlfriend, three cats, two dogs, and a turtle.\u003cb\u003eFrom Chapter 1, \"Go\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eDisney  will never  make  a movie about  my life story, and  that’s a  shame—I’d  make  a really cute animated  creature.  But I was born and  raised to play the role of young hero boy. I spent  my first four- teen  years living in Interlaken, New Jersey. It’s an upper-middle-class  island  in the middle  of Deal Lake, just  one town inland  from  the  summer  seaside resort of Asbury Park in its glory days. My family was  one of a handful  of Jews who lived there. I was four and a half years  old when I realized I wasn’t a boy, and therefore must be a girl. I  still lived the life of a boy. People still saw me as a boy, and later  as a man—and I never had the courage to correct them. Instead, I lied to  everyone, telling them I was a boy. Day and night, I lied. That’s a lot  of pressure  on a little kid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-----\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Saturday  Evening Post arrived each week, by mail. Norman Rock- well, craftsman   of the American dream, painted most of the covers. I longed  to be each   and  every one  of those  corn-fed midwestern freckle-faced Rockwell  girls—engaging,  grinning  in the face of adversity, defiant, weeping  with the loss of love, dependent on the men in her  life. Rockwell girls  are especially dependent on daddy. And they were blonde.  Oh, how I  wanted  eyes the color of cornflowers and hair the color of fresh-picked  corn.\u003cbr\u003e    Well, here’s  a cover that  Norman  Rockwell would  never   have painted: my mother  on the delivery table, knocked out from not  only\u003cbr\u003e the anesthesia,  but also the pitcher of martinis  she’d drunk  over the course of her six hours’ labor with me. I was born drunk and  loving drugs. The first words I heard were, “Welcome to this world,  honey. Welcome.” Twenty-four years later, the same doctor—Griff Grimm—  would hold newborn  Jessica and  say those  same  words. Griff and my  dad  were resident  physicians  at Fitkin  Memorial  in  Neptune, New  Jersey—a small hospital serving a cluster of small seaside sum- mer  towns.\u003cbr\u003e    Living on the Jersey Shore, the Atlantic Ocean was our  magic, and the boardwalk was our magic carpet. Summertime meant  sharing  that with the tourists—we all had summer jobs that depended on the  tourists.  In a summer  town, the father-son bonding  seasons are  autumn, winter, and early spring.\u003cbr\u003e    My dad and I bonded over  old-school pro wrestling—we shared that fandom.  Dad had once been the  Indiana  State College Middle- weight Wrestling Champion.  He took me to  the pro matches  in As- bury Park’s Convention Hall.\u003cbr\u003e    “Remember,   Albert,” he’d say to me, “it’s all an act. But there’s a lot of skill  in making it look real.” I knew that already. I had a lot of skill in  making myself look and act like a real boy.\u003cbr\u003e    My father  was a  doctor, so we could afford to sit ringside.  He rarely stayed seated.  Dad was up on his feet most  of the time—as close to the ring as he  could get—shaking  his fist and bellowing at the bad guys, or at the  referee  for a bad call. That was his anger. He showed some of it at  home, but ringside he really let go. My dad thought  he saw me, his son,  caught up in the bloodlust of the sport. Nah. It was plain old lust for  me. I watched those matches shivering in sexual turn-on. Pre-match, the  wrestlers would strut  around  the ring. One for one, the good guys  always gave me a wink. They gave everyone a wink, but I took it  personally. When they winked at me, I was a beautiful  young girl and I  longed to be caught  up in their arms. Any bonding  my dad and I did  over wrestling, or fishing, or baseball was—like everything else in my  life—based on the lie that\u003cbr\u003e I was a boy.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -----\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Paul Kenneth Bornstein, MD\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e That was the name,  hand-painted on the pebbled-green-glass office door  to my father’s medical office on the second floor of the Medical Arts  Building in Asbury Park. When I turned  thirteen  and became a man, I  was told that one day my name would be painted right underneath  his,  and we’d share a practice together. It never occurred to me to question  that future, and besides, I never argued with my dad. My big brother   and I called him dad. Only girls called their fathers daddy. Dad’s  patients  called him  Doc—so did most  of the  trades- people and store  clerks up and down the shore. To them, I was Doc’s son, as in “Doc’s son  is here for the prescription,”  or “You got those roast beef subs ready  for Doc’s son?” or “Hey, Doc’s son is here delivering Christmas   presents.”  Yes, we were Jews but back then  we weren’t supposed  to  shout  about  it. We celebrated  Christmas,  not Hanukkah. I was bar  mitzvahed  but, as I’ve mentioned and as you may have noted . . . it  didn’t work.\u003cbr\u003e    My dad’s parents immigrated from Russia—or Poland—or  what- ever they were calling that strip of land that drifted back and  forth. I don’t know my family’s town of origin, but growing up, I heard  vague references  to Minsk  and  Pinsk.  Minsk, Pinsk, someone  would  say, and Uncle Davy would unconsciously rub the camp number tattooed on  his forearm. He always wore long sleeves. Minsk, Pinsk, someone would  say, and invariably someone  would recite “The Ballad of Max and Anna  Come to America.”\u003cbr\u003e    Max and Anna, my father’s parents, were age  fourteen and twelve respectively. They were lovers who together   supported  the  radical Red Russian  forces seeking to overthrow the  czar. Young Max was captured  by the White Russians—forces  of the czar,  not unlike the Stormtroopers  in Star Wars. Max was banished  to a POW  camp in Siberia.  Thousands of miles  west  of Siberia,  in  Minsk  or   Pinsk, Anna—twelve years old, remember—set off to rescue  her  radical  lefty lover boy. She was dirt-poor, so she had to walk—but like a  heroine in some Disney cartoon, Anna could sing, so that’s what she did.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300462940389,"sku":"NP9780807001837","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807001837.jpg?v=1767720740","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/a-queer-and-pleasant-danger-isbn-9780807001837","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}