Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws [Paperback]

Kate Bornstein (Author), Sara Quin (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it.
Here, Bornstein bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival in an often cruel world. A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World is a much-needed unconventional approach to life for those who want to stay on the edge, but alive.
Hello, Cruel World features a catalog of 101 alternatives to suicide that range from the playful (moisturize!), to the irreverent (shatter some family values), to the highly controversial. Designed to encourage readers to give themselves permission to unleash their hearts' harmless desires, the book has only one directive: "Don't be mean." It is this guiding principle that brings its reader on a self-validating journey, which forges wholly new paths toward a resounding decision to choose life.
Tenderly intimate and unapologetically edgy, Kate Bornstein is the radical role model, the affectionate best friend, and the guiding mentor all in one.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A celebrated pioneer for the LGBTIQ community, KATE BORNSTEIN is the author of My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely and Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and The Rest of Us, as well as the editor with S. Bear Bergman of Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation. Her plays and performance pieces include Hidden: A Gender, The Opposite Sex Is Neither, and Too Tall Blondes In Love. She lives in New York City with her partner, Barbara Carrellas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583227202
• ISBN-13: 978-1583227206
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

i'm an author and playwright and performance artist. i written mostly postmodern gender theory, queer political rants, third wave feminist whatever and s/m porn when i've had time to do that. now, it seems i've written a self-help book for members of the radical left. it's called "hello, cruel world: 101 alternatives to suicide for teens, freaks, and other outlaws." and i'll have more up here about that sooner than later but for now, you can visit http://www.hellocruelworld.net for a sneak peek. it's taken me years to write this book, so that's pretty much what i'm about these days.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Kate, August 14, 2006

By 

A Reader (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws (Paperback)

I'm not a teen, but I am a long-time freak in the middle of what I sincerely hope is the worst set of circumstances I will face in my life. I am losing someone I love more than just about anything to a very slow and painful disease.

I haven't felt hope in nine months. This book gave me hope.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REAL-DEAL HELP, April 17, 2007

By 

Bill Brent "writer, editor, publisher" (HI and CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws (Paperback)

This book could save your life. I wish it had been around when I was a suicidal seventh-grader. One of the readers at Amazon.com says, "Every high school library should carry this book!" and that's probably the best possible endorsement. This is a wonderful book.

Hello, Cruel World is the best depiction I have seen of the real world of troubled teens. It accurately locates the bully as the most common cause of self-esteem issues that can take years, even decades, to resolve. Kate's only rule for readers is "don't be mean," and that is certainly the most obvious characteristic of every bully I've ever faced. Kate's winning personality and irresistible sense of humor prevail over the heavy topic matter. Her writing is inspired, passionate, and empathic. There is little if anything that goes uncovered here. (Well, okay, she includes "sex worker" but omits "drug dealer" and "rock and roller" from her list of freak-admissible careers in alternative 34, "Sing for your Supper." I mean, if you're going to include the Unholy Trinity, you might as well go all the way, right?)

Actually, my only real quibble with this book (and it is a quibble) is that I thought this book might be even "safer" if the cover were more discreet. I admit that it's a bit busy for my taste, but perhaps a plain cover would have been even better for the sake of the kids who might have to sneak around with this book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hello - Fellow Survivors, November 9, 2006

By 

David Israelstam (Madison,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws (Paperback)

My three favorite passages:(not verbatim - as I remember them)
1:In high school, we didn't kill the freaks - we did something worse - we made them want to kill themselves.

2:The next time you want to kill yourself - kill the offending part of yourself instead- selective serial suicide.

3: I want to become that which I'm most attracted to.