Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws | 
| Author: Kate Bornstein
Creator: Sara Quin
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $11.53
You Save: $5.42 (32%)
Rating:  15 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 192
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 1583227202
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.85844505
EAN: 9781583227206
ASIN: 1583227202
Publication Date: July 1, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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, Kate bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival for navigating 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 teenage suicide prevention for marginalized youth 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 (Disbelieve the Binary), to the highly controversial (Get Laid. Please). 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 is the radical role model, the affectionate best friend, and the guiding mentor all in one kind and spirited package. A celebrated pioneer for the LGBTQI community, transsexual author and performance artist, Kate Bornstein is the author of the wildly successful books My Gender Workbook and Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and The Rest of Us.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Funny, Compassionate, Useful May 26, 2008
Kevin Barrack (San Mateo, CA USA)
I haven't felt suicidal for a long time, but this book is also effective to combat a general malaise, irritability, anger or pessimisim.
The 101 alternatives are only the second half of the book. The first half is Kate's personal history, advice and observations. Some more traditional alternatives are also discussed in this first part ("Call a Suicide Hotline").
I believe that one of the most helpful parts of the book is its humor, woven affectionately into the advice, observations and personal experiences. This light-heartedness, never too much to seem disrespectful, helps to give perspective to life's problems.
Get to the Root of the Problem May 21, 2007
Marina Kushner (SCR Books)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
All high school libraries should have this book, which could save a life. Troubled teens will understand where the root of their problems lies.
REAL-DEAL HELP April 17, 2007
Bill Brent (HI and CA, USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
Hello - Fellow Survivors November 10, 2006
David Israelstam (Madison,, WI United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
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