The House of Hidden Meanings
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4.4 • 99 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Read by Ru Paul
***An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!***
From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date--a deeply intimate memoir of discovery, found family, and self-acceptance. The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag.
Central to RuPaul’s success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world’s largest television franchises, RuPaul’s ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and supermogul. Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known.
In The House of Hidden Meanings, RuPaul strips away all artifice and recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography life-story, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history.
Here in RuPaul’s singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living—a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly.
A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag. “I've always loved to view the world with analytical eyes, examining what lies beneath the surface. Here, the focus is on my own life—as RuPaul Andre Charles,” says RuPaul.
If we’re all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
For many, the creator and host of RuPaul’s Drag Race is the epitome of fierceness and inspiration. But it took the usually guarded RuPaul decades of life experience to gain the confidence and wisdom that’s made him an icon—which he finally shares in this candid memoir. We get to meet the teen RuPaul Charles of the ’70s, who struggled with his Black queer identity and later found an unexpected haven for his gender nonconformity in the unruly thrash of the ’80s Georgia post-punk scene. His journey goes on from there, cutting through the worlds of drag, underground cinema, and the recording industry, and throughout it all, the mood remains captivatingly introspective. This isn’t a typical celebrity memoir; RuPaul rarely speaks about his major career accomplishments, instead focusing on personal stories, relationships, and the evolution of his identity. Even the subdued tone of his beautifully practiced voice will tell you this is a side of RuPaul you’ve never seen.
Customer Reviews
If it Makes you Cry!
If your book makes me shed a tear while listening to it. . .its golden. It’s doing something right. My only one complaint is that it was too short. Be sure to write another one Ru!
No ego present, just deep and intimate
I appreciate the trajectory that RuPaul took me in. I felt like I was listening / reading a docu-series. My favorite chapter was Elevator. Every time I heard “ding” — I knew something interesting was about to happen
Poignant and Sublime
Absolutely brilliant. I’ve been undoing a personal journey and transformation, so to come across a book this personal felt timely. The parallels are spectacular to note & I hope that at the very least I can follow a trajectory that is similar. I too have a story and feel “special”, and Mama Ru has only solidified that it’s not by chance, but by fate.