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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.
"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.
Editorial Reviews
"[A] riotously funny book that will steal your heart from the very first page. . . Rare is the book that makes me both laugh out loud and shed actual tears, but Leg made me do both. . . [Marshall's] writing brings to mind early David Sedaris, with its bitingly funny caricatures and descriptions, bathed in blistering commentary, deep-seated opinions, wit, intellect and, above all else, fierce family love."―Bookpage, Starred Review
"A sparkling portrait of personal discovery and a celebration of family, forgiveness, and thriving with a disability. In a zesty, forthright series of humorous, heartfelt, and often wincingly oddball anecdotes. . . [Marshall] displays a natural storytelling ability, and he writes with a good dose of self-effacing humor, exposing the murky consequences of secrets, even when they're kept with the best intentions."―Kirkus Reviews
"This hilarious and wholly unique memoir by Greg Marshall tackles many subjects: disability, family relationships, and coming out (twice). With signature wit and humor, Marshall takes material that could be morbid in the hands of a lesser writer, and dares his readers not to laugh. He knows he's had an unconventional life, but there's no self-pity here. Instead, he embraces the absurdity of it all and leans into it, making one hell of an entertaining book."
―Buzzfeed, Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book of 2023
"Marshall traces his experience coming out of two closets-first as gay, and much later, as having cerebral palsy-in this comedic memoir."
―Publishers Weekly
"In this big-hearted, (literally) laugh-out-loud memoir, Marshall explores how it touched every other aspect of his life, from dealing with grief, to dating as a gay man, to making sense of it all through writing."
―Bustle
"Smart and heartfelt … His honesty and clarity in writing about disability makes this debut one to watch."―LitHub, Most Anticipated Books of 2023
"Leg is a laugh-out-loud funny memoir that will hit you squarely in the heart and leave you with tears in your eyes. Tears of joy and tears of heartache, sure-but most of all tears of gratitude for this incredible tale of marvelous resilience, tremendous love, a larger-than-life family, and boner pills. Greg Marshall is one helluva storyteller, taking hilarity and emoti...
"A sparkling portrait of personal discovery and a celebration of family, forgiveness, and thriving with a disability. In a zesty, forthright series of humorous, heartfelt, and often wincingly oddball anecdotes. . . [Marshall] displays a natural storytelling ability, and he writes with a good dose of self-effacing humor, exposing the murky consequences of secrets, even when they're kept with the best intentions."―Kirkus Reviews
"This hilarious and wholly unique memoir by Greg Marshall tackles many subjects: disability, family relationships, and coming out (twice). With signature wit and humor, Marshall takes material that could be morbid in the hands of a lesser writer, and dares his readers not to laugh. He knows he's had an unconventional life, but there's no self-pity here. Instead, he embraces the absurdity of it all and leans into it, making one hell of an entertaining book."
―Buzzfeed, Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book of 2023
"Marshall traces his experience coming out of two closets-first as gay, and much later, as having cerebral palsy-in this comedic memoir."
―Publishers Weekly
"In this big-hearted, (literally) laugh-out-loud memoir, Marshall explores how it touched every other aspect of his life, from dealing with grief, to dating as a gay man, to making sense of it all through writing."
―Bustle
"Smart and heartfelt … His honesty and clarity in writing about disability makes this debut one to watch."―LitHub, Most Anticipated Books of 2023
"Leg is a laugh-out-loud funny memoir that will hit you squarely in the heart and leave you with tears in your eyes. Tears of joy and tears of heartache, sure-but most of all tears of gratitude for this incredible tale of marvelous resilience, tremendous love, a larger-than-life family, and boner pills. Greg Marshall is one helluva storyteller, taking hilarity and emoti...
