There are lots of things I could say about Pageboy, but I will start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Page is very open with his story, recounting very personal details from his life. He starts by clarifying that his book isn't THE queer story, simply his own experience. I love how he makes it clear that his story is not the story that people should take in as what it is like for all queer people. He seems hopeful that his story will help others and I think there is a lot of comfort in his honesty.
Page jumps around through his life telling different stories. He talks about the complications that come with realizing you're gay and eventually the complications that come with realizing you're trans. His is a story of finding himself repeatedly.
Like many queer people, he faced backlash from peers, snide remarks, complicated female friendships (queer women and queer formerly women know that experience all too well), body issues, identity issues, etc. A lot of the experiences he talks about are ones that myself and other queer people I know have expressed.
There were many parts of his story that I resonated with, but at the time, the part in particular that I felt was seeing me was his talk about his eating disorder. At the time of listening to this book, I was recovering from my own eating disorder (something that I have struggled with since middle school, but only really acknowledged recently). He talks about being unable to eat things. Not an "oh I can't, I shouldn't", but a physical inability to swallow. I felt a sense of not being alone.
He describes his experiences acting and the way that it impacted his life. At one point he had a stalker which he details. He also had many secret relationships to maintain his image or the image of his partner within the media.
This book was a hard read(listen). Page's life was filled with a lot of really hard things. He talks about sexual assaults he experienced, eating disorders, the bullying he experienced from his own family, transphobia, homophobia, self-harm, and more. There were some instances in which he described injuries he experienced rather graphically. At some points, I had to stop the audio and collect myself before listening on.
As mentioned above, there are difficult topics within this book so you should be advised before listening/reading. There is mention of sexual assault, eating disorders, physical assault, graphic descriptions of injury, self-harm, and more. Please take this into consideration before reading the book.
Overall, I really loved this book. It was very intimate and personal even for a memoir. Page's ability to share his life story was deeply engaging. I highly recommend this book.
