Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws
by Kate Bornsteinbook data
183 ratings, 4.04 average rating, 46 reviews
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published
July 1st 2006
by Seven Stories Press
binding
Paperback, 192 pages
isbn
1583227202
(isbn13: 9781583227206)
description
Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility t...more
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Read in March, 2008
Ok.
So I get all the hoopla about Kate Bornstein and I can respect her work and her life, but I don't agree with a lot of it. The first part of the book was just scattered and ill-prepared. Her generalizations like "all lesbian and gay people are transgendered because the transcend gender" just leave me feeling a little squicky. And I'm sure quite a few lesbians and gay men would agree with me on that.
That being said, her actual list of 101 things to do is pretty good. Most of them...more
So I get all the hoopla about Kate Bornstein and I can respect her work and her life, but I don't agree with a lot of it. The first part of the book was just scattered and ill-prepared. Her generalizations like "all lesbian and gay people are transgendered because the transcend gender" just leave me feeling a little squicky. And I'm sure quite a few lesbians and gay men would agree with me on that.
That being said, her actual list of 101 things to do is pretty good. Most of them...more
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Read in August, 2008
This was my first experience reading Kate Bornstein though I’d heard about her (at length) from a friend who enjoys her work. I had also listened to her interview on the Radical Guy Podcast (a great podcast on transgender issues, very informative, you should check it out by the way). So I was familiar with her overall message and her direct and accessible manner of presenting it.
Hello Cruel World is directed at teens and so I take it, Bornstein did not approach all the issues she usually a...more
Hello Cruel World is directed at teens and so I take it, Bornstein did not approach all the issues she usually a...more
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Ok, I'll admit it- I have a big, fat crush on Kate Bornstein. Big brains are a huge turn on.
But as far as the *book* goes, I'd have to give it 5 stars. As someone who works with queer and questioning youth, I have found this book to be invaluable- both for myself and for the youth I work with.
I've seen some reviews call in to question the focus on sexuality in a book meant for younger readers. Newsflash: youth are expressing their sexuality and gender at younger and younger ages and loo...more
But as far as the *book* goes, I'd have to give it 5 stars. As someone who works with queer and questioning youth, I have found this book to be invaluable- both for myself and for the youth I work with.
I've seen some reviews call in to question the focus on sexuality in a book meant for younger readers. Newsflash: youth are expressing their sexuality and gender at younger and younger ages and loo...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
troubled teens, troubled teens-at-heart, therapists to teens
i guess i read this book strictly from curiosity. i am not a teenager & i haven't been wild about kate bornstein, particularly. but perhaps if i had a distraught teenager in my life--or a surly one, or one that wouldn't talk to anyone--i would pass this book along. it has many coping mechanisms ideas for young folks (& folks of all ages who may be having some trouble getting through their days) who feel alienated from their families, schools, & general communities, maybe because they...more
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I think this book was badly named. Had the subtitle been 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Freaks, Weirdos and Other Outlaws (say)--it would still have ended up in the hands of the teens who really needed it and yet would not have suggested the book was *only* for teens. Some adults will miss this book, and that's too bad. Like some other reviewers I was impressed with Kate's humor and articulation, but put off by the fact that so much of it was focused on sexuality. I think sex DOES need to b...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
trannies, high school or middle school teachers
In honor of Valentine's Day, tranny activist Kate Bornstein spoke at the NYU gender studies' department last night on "deviant desires." And though her lecture made me feel pretty boring...I guess my desires aren't that deviant...I love her joie de vivre and reclaiming-outcast-status take on life so much that I had to pick up a $10 paperback copy of
And that's not a cutesy title. "The History of Love" is NOT actually a history of love, but Kate's book actually lists 101...more
And that's not a cutesy title. "The History of Love" is NOT actually a history of love, but Kate's book actually lists 101...more
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recommends it for:
EVERYONE in high school...no, seriously...EVERYONE
This isn't a book I read in high school, but I damn sure wish it were. I don't go much for inspirational books or books labeled "self-help," but this book packs an enormous emotional wallop that basically makes the reader want to get off her ass, quit (or start) complaining, and try to do something to change the shitty and unfortunate Way Things Are. I read it after I already begun teaching high school and, looking at it through those lens, it even drew a few (sincere!) tears from th...more
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Read in February, 2008
I absolutely adore Kate Bornstein. She is creative, brilliant, positive yet realistic, and just completely fabulous. However, I did not like this book. I felt that this was possibly Kate's most self-indulgent book yet. She tends to talk about herself quite a bit in her books, and I thought this one just really took it over the top for me. I usually would love to read more and more about her, but I couldn't do it this time around. Perhaps this would not bother the first-time Bornstein reade...more
Some of the best writing on gender I can think of, kate bornstein's work is totally accessible to a wide variety of people while still demonstrating radical, awesome ideas about gender and sex. She's someone who's willing to talk on a level that teens and young people can relate to about suicide, zen and poststructuralist philosophy! This book is also in a list format that's easy to pick up or jump around in.
I saw her perform the chapter "oh cruel desire" at UCSD, thanks to the LGBT...more
I saw her perform the chapter "oh cruel desire" at UCSD, thanks to the LGBT...more
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before anyone freaks out, i got this book so i could be more comfortable talking to clients about this at work. for a while, i would get overwhelmed immediately when someone mentioned having attempted suicide or any suicidal thoughts. while the book was funny, it didn't really work with the population all that well. if you don't agree with homosexuality, bisexuality, transexuality, metasexuality, etc, the book can be very alienating. while i don't have problems with these topics, a lot of othe...more
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this was shelved in the gendar section of the bookstore i got it at, which is SO WRONG, but that's ok. i think that if i were actually a suicidal teen, it would perhaps be more helpful? although kate gets a little dogmatic on the non-binary, which is... something that if it feels too strong to me, and i believe in the majority of it, probably is scaring other kids off. there's also some weight watchers promotion going on, and some generally iffy body stuff... but it's, i guess, a good start...more
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Read in January, 2006
interesting little book.
there are some things that i get kind of angry about - that just don't seem appropriate - but then i remember who the book is aimed for, and what seems irreverent to me is so for a very specific reason.
it's exactly what it says it is, and often times it's quite funny. i don't know exactly who i would recommend this to, or if you could ever really give it as a gift, but it is a good book. the illustrations are hilarious, the printing is inventive.
there are some things that i get kind of angry about - that just don't seem appropriate - but then i remember who the book is aimed for, and what seems irreverent to me is so for a very specific reason.
it's exactly what it says it is, and often times it's quite funny. i don't know exactly who i would recommend this to, or if you could ever really give it as a gift, but it is a good book. the illustrations are hilarious, the printing is inventive.
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Read in January, 2007
This book is really not for teens. This book is really not full of "safe" alternatives to suicide. Promiscuity is a sure way to fall into a deeper depression, not a way to pull you out of it. This book is humorous, and someone in their 20's-30's will find it interesting. But really, let's call it what it is, this is the author's chance to write about herself and how wonderful and special s/he thinks she is. This book made me angry, and inspired good discussion though.
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recommends it for:
you guys
Kate Bornstein makes me smile. She's writing down things she wanted to hear growing up but just didn't exist. She's older than my mom, but she's hanging out w/ T Cooper and Tegan & Sara. Kate wants the world to be happy. Not depressed. And that means getting this whole thing about loving yourself down right...I kind of scanned through the second half and even most of the first half, but there are little jewels of humor and wisdom embedded in her work. Which is fun to find.
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this is a fantastic book. i don't know what it would have been like to read as a suicidal teen, but i hope it would be equally fantastic and helpful. kate bornstein knows what she's talking about, having been there, and isn't averse to being totally honest. for instance, knowing that in the moment, some self-destructive behavior, if it keeps you alive, is better than the alternative. also the book has kate's fantastic sense of humor.
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Read in March, 2007
okay, maybe i would have appreciated this more if i had read it while a lonely queer kid in the midwest. i like to keep up with kate bornstein even though i had a feeling this book wouldn't really appeal to me. lots of encouragement around self-acceptance and a few tiny thoughts on survival. nice that she clearly subscribes to a harm reduction framework for youth which is pretty unusual (ie: she doesn't say all self-harm is bad).
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I tried to read this book as if i was a teen again but it really spoke to me as i am now. Kate encourages readers to accept where they are at in their self-care and plants the seed of harm reduction awareness, which is something i had wished i had heard of at a much younger age. I like the focus on sexuality and gender and feel that those are things that kids struggle with and kill themselves over statistically speaking...
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I wish this book had been around when I was a miserable teenager. Kate Bornstein is the perfect pal for the young and disenfranchised - an adult who has been there, who won't judge you, who doesn't belittle your problems, and who genuinely wants you to get better. I hope that plenty of struggling kids are able to get their hands on this, although it's nice to read as an adult as well.
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2 comments
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Jesse by:
julie bordenrecommends it for: teens, freaks, and other outlaws
This book was a really satisfying read and has some moments of true insight about identity and being kind to oneself and other people and illustrations of important life values. If I could give 3.5 stars I think I'd do that. As with many Bornstein works it's a bit too "clever" but really much of this book will stay with me.
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recommended to Amy by:
Professor
recommends it for: EVERYONE!
recommends it for: EVERYONE!
This was an AMAZING, quick read. Also has a WONDERFUL forward written by Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara. Had to read it last year for my Gay and Lesbians in American Society class. Like nothing else I'd ever read. Kate Bornstein has a very unique, thoughtful point of view on life, gender and love. Very Positive!
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