Rory O'Neill - Woman in the Making: Panti's Memoir

2014, 2015, English, Ireland, Rory O'Neill,

"Woman in the Making: Panti's Memoir" was published twice in 2014 and 2015.

"1968: in a small town in the west of Ireland, a beautiful baby boy is born. He enjoys an idyllic country childhood: privileged, carefree, surrounded by love—and pet sheep. 11 years later, the Pope visits Ireland, and things will never be the same again.

At the Pontiff's mass in Knock, the little boy has an epiphany that will set him on the road to becoming the biggest, boldest, and most opinionated drag queen Ireland has ever known.

This is the story of Rory O'Neill's journey from the fields to becoming Panti Bliss, the voice of a brave new nation embracing diversity, all the colors of the rainbow, and, most of all, a glamorous attitude.

It's also the story of a misfit who turned his difference into a triumphant art form; of coming to terms with HIV; of political activism; and of "Pantigate," and the speech that touched a million lives. Welcome to the world of Panti—adored, fun drunk aunt to the world—and her creator Rory, in their own inimitable words."

I found the following comment by Patt O'Neill: "If I wasn't already a fan of Rory O'Neill, aka Panti Bliss, I sure am now after reading his memoir about the rather interesting journey from a lad in Ireland, to bawdy (and gaudy) Japan, and back to Ireland where he/she became to toast of Dublin and eventually the world. If any person has a friend or relative who has recently 'come out of the closet', this book is a tender testimony to how a young person deals with first understanding themselves and then the risks they take as they gamble their revelation with the love and acceptance of others."

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