Description

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

Publisher Review

Gripping ... It takes extraordinary qualities to do some of the things she recounts in this book ... Manning has become a new kind of American heroine * Observer * Electrifying ... an insider confessional turned inside out for the 21st century ... Manning reckons with this complex relationship of sex and gender to political radicalism ... absorbing ... sublime * Washington Post * One of the bravest persons alive -- Yanis Varoufakis A terrific read, full of unexpected turns and details that counter many of the assumptions made about Manning at the time ... Opens like a Jason Bourne novel * Guardian * Chelsea Manning is the biggest hero that ever lived -- Vivienne Westwood A heroine to millions -- Alan Moore A searing personal element ... Although troubling to read, it manages to be uplifting as well * The New York Times * Harrowing ... affecting * New Statesman * A candidly told story from activist Chelsea Manning, which turns the tell-all confessional upside down. ... Chelsea moves through her life story with poignant, personal detail ... It's shocking to read what she's witnessed and triumphed over. * The Face * Forceful ... To those who see Manning as a hero, [her memoir] will only intensify that feeling, given all the hardships she has overcome. Those who see villainy may perhaps find their views tempered by sympathy * Sunday Times *