The extraordinarily dramatic story of one of the world’s most famous whistle-blowers and trans women
An extraordinarily brave and moving memoir from one of the world’s most famous whistle-blowers, activists and trans women.
In 2013, Chelsea Manning was sentenced to thirty-five years in military prison for the largest leak of classified documents in history. The next day, Chelsea declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition.
In this radically candid memoir, Chelsea recounts how her challenging youth led her to join the US Army. She writes of the fierce pride she took in her work, the risks of the military’s queer underground and the wider culture of silence and unaccountability. She describes fifty-nine days locked in an iron cage after her fateful decision and the community of solidarity she later discovered in prison. Above all, we see the phenomenal courage and resilience it took to survive and become a global advocate for transparency.
‘A terrific read, full of unexpected turns and details that counter many of the assumptions made about Manning’ GUARDIAN
‘Brilliantly told’ THE TIMES
‘Searing…uplifting…redemptive’ NEW YORK TIMES
‘A full and expansive account of Manning’s life, one which is often harrowing but funny and poignant too’ DAZED
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Imprint: Vintage UK
Publication date: 01/06/2023
readme.txt
by Chelsea Manning
Review by Alex P
This is one of my favourite books of the year, and one of my favourite memoirs of all time. I remember being in school when I first heard about Chelsea Manning and her whistle-blowing during the Iraq war. My opinion on her was formed by the media and my classmates, who mercilessly ridiculed and slandered her, both for being trans and for “betraying” her country. From the reaction of those around me, I thought she must have been a mentally unstable monster, and didn’t look any further into it. How wrong I was. Chelsea writes her life story in an easy-to-read, straight-up way that doesn’t cut corners or make excuses. She doesn’t leave anything out, and reals off facts and details in a very succinct manner, yet that doesn’t take away from their impact on the reader. She makes her reasons for whistle-blowing clear, and recounts the horrors she saw while on active duty (and experienced at the hands of the justice system) in her concise yet dynamic writing style. Her intelligence is clear, and she has completely transformed my opinion of her. She is an amazingly strong individual, not only to survive war and imprisonment, but also the degradation and subhuman treatment she was subjected to by the media and American politics. I really hope she writes more books.
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