One of the most interesting, funny, and moving queer memoirs to appear this year is Bornstein’s sharing of her most exceptional life, “the true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today.â€
She maintains that her inspiration for this book, six years in the making, is that her daughter, located high in the Church of Scientology and forbidden to speak to her, will come across this book, and then… Well, if that happens there will certainly be a sequel, but in the meantime, track down this engaging, wildly embracing tale of discovery and transition.
Bornstein unflinchingly tells about her life from childhood near the Jersey shore to her experimental years at Brown University and escape from the draft followed by her tumble into Scientology. In her eleven years with the Church she rose rapidly in the ranks and became a member of L. Ron Hubbard’s inner circle, the Sea Organization.
Through the years she moved back and forth from boy to girl personas, pausing between the two, and trying on the fringes for good measure. After leaving the Church and two Scientology marriages Bornstein transitioned through gender reassignment surgery and entered the gay communities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. Crediting the queer theatre movement with saving her life she now deals with “Lady Death†in the form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Those familiar with this gender outlaw’s other works (four books, performance art, and daily activism) will likely be intrigued by this memoir. The brave and honest book will find a well-deserved home in any queer collection or library that recognizes the growing interest in gender theory and identity.
Reviewer: Morgan Gwenwald, Outreach Librarian
Sojourner Truth Library, SUNY New Paltz
