Author:
Jennifer Finney Boylan
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Learn moreWhat is the difference between men and women? Jennifer Finney Boylan, bestselling author of She’s Not There and co-author of Mad Honey with Jodi Picoult, examines the divisions—as well as the common ground—between the genders, and reflects on her own experiences, both difficult and joyful, as a transgender American.
Jennifer Finney Boylan’s She’s Not There was the first bestselling work written by a transgender American. Since its publication twenty years ago, she has become the go-to person for insight into the impact of gender on our lives, from the food we eat to the dreams we dream, both for ourselves and for our children. But Cleavage is more than a deep dive into gender identity; it’s also a look at the difference between coming out as trans in 2000—when many people reacted to Boylan’s transition with love—and the present era of blowback and fear.
How does gender affect our sense of self? Our body image? The passage of time? The friends we lose—and keep? Boylan considers her womanhood, reflects on the boys and men who shaped her, and reconceives of herself as a writer, activist, parent, and spouse. With heart-wrenching honesty, she illustrates the feeling of liminality that followed her to adulthood, but demonstrates the redemptive power of love through it all.
With Boylan’s trademark humor and poignancy, Cleavage is a sharp, witty, and captivating look at the triumphs and losses of a life lived in two genders. Cleavage provides hope for a future in which we all have the freedom to live joyfully as men, as women, and in the space between us.
A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Jennifer Finney Boylan is the author of nineteen books, including Mad Honey, coauthored with Jodi Picoult. Her memoir, She’s Not There, was the first bestselling work by a transgender American. Since 2014, she has been the inaugural Anna Quindlen Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University; she is also on the faculty of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference of Middlebury College and the Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy. She is the President of PEN America, and from 2011 to 2018 she was a member of the Board of Directors of GLAAD, including four years as national cochair. In 2022-23 she was a Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She graduated from Wesleyan University and Johns Hopkins, and she holds doctorates honoris causa from Sarah Lawrence College, the New School, and Wesleyan University. For many years she was a contributing opinion writer for the opinion section of the New York Times. Her work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Literary Hub, Down East, and many other publications. She lives in Maine and New York with her wife, Deirdre. They have two children: a daughter, Zai, and a son, Sean.
Gabra Zackman began recording audiobooks when they were called books on tape, and has recorded more than 500, in all genres.
Jennifer Finney Boylan is the author of nineteen books, including Mad Honey, coauthored with Jodi Picoult. Her memoir, She’s Not There, was the first bestselling work by a transgender American. Since 2014, she has been the inaugural Anna Quindlen Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University; she is also on the faculty of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference of Middlebury College and the Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy. She is the President of PEN America, and from 2011 to 2018 she was a member of the Board of Directors of GLAAD, including four years as national cochair. In 2022-23 she was a Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She graduated from Wesleyan University and Johns Hopkins, and she holds doctorates honoris causa from Sarah Lawrence College, the New School, and Wesleyan University. For many years she was a contributing opinion writer for the opinion section of the New York Times. Her work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Literary Hub, Down East, and many other publications. She lives in Maine and New York with her wife, Deirdre. They have two children: a daughter, Zai, and a son, Sean.
Audiobook details
Narrators:
Gabra Zackman & Jennifer Finney Boylan
ISBN:
9781250383907
Length:
TBA
Language:
English
Publisher:
Macmillan Audio
Publication date:
February 4, 2025
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#14,326 Overall
Genre rank:
#347 in Family & Relationships
Reviews
"Jenny's honest, intense lived experience gives us a compassionate prism through which to see this changing world."
—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Boylan writes with great humor, wisdom, and warmth about what it means to be human—at different ages, and in different genders—in this confounding world. Compulsively readable and often outright hilarious, this book is a treasure.”
—Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers and I Have Some Questions for You
“For those who have never felt at home at home—and that’s a lot of us these days—Jenny Finney Boylan’s story is a story of faith, hope, and, above all, love.”
—Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street
"Once again, the legendary Jenny Finney Boylan serves up a memoir for the ages with a hard-won tale about women and men and the nexus between parenting a child self into her true form, then having to apply that wisdom as a parent to an offspring. As with all her books, it’s unforgettable. Buy this book!”
—Mary Karr, author of The Liars’ Club, Cherry, and Lit
"Cleavage poses a range of questions, including how gender affects our body image, relationships and our sense of self. Throughout its pages, Boylan also considers her own journey as a writer, activist, spouse and parent in the present day, and the prevailing power of love."
—People Magazine
"Boylan is an accomplished and playful writer, adept at handling serious subjects with a light but poignant touch… Readers will be equal parts entertained and edified.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"[T]his luminous memoir-in-stories… is always erudite, enlightening, and thought-provoking. Love is never far from her consciousness. She concludes that with a little luck, love might prevail, and readers will hope so, too."
—Booklist, Starred Review
"An exploration of gender that effectively balances pathos and humor."
—Kirkus