Naked in the Promised Land: A Memoir

by Lillian Faderman (Author), Lillian Faderman (Author), Carmen Maria Machado (Foreword), Carmen Maria Machado (Foreword)

New
Paperback
2020
$12.94

Born in 1940, Lillian Faderman is the only child of an uneducated and unmarried Jewish woman, who fled to America to escape the Nazis. Her mother's family perished in the Holocaust, and her mother was racked by guilt at having left them behind, suffering recurrent psychotic episodes. The only relief she had from this, and her brutal sweatshop job, was loving Lilly. Lilly grows into Lil, a beautiful young woman who learns that her deepest erotic and emotional connections are with other women, and who finds herself in a dangerous but seductive world of addicts, pimps, and prostitutes. Desperately seeking to make her life meaningful, and to redeem her mother's suffering, she studies at University of California, Berkeley - paying her way by working as a burlesque stripper. At last she becomes Lillian, a brilliant student and the woman who becomes a loving partner, a devoted mother, an acclaimed writer and ground-breaking pioneer of gay and lesbian scholarship. Told with wrenching immediacy and great power, this is an extraordinary memoir: the nakedly honest story of an exceptional woman and her remarkable, unorthodox life.

Synopsis

Born in 1940, Lillian Faderman is the only child of an uneducated and unmarried Jewish woman, who fled to America to escape the Nazis. Her mother's family perished in the Holocaust, and her mother was racked by guilt at having left them behind, suffering recurrent psychotic episodes. The only relief she had from this, and her brutal sweatshop job, was loving Lilly. Lilly grows into Lil, a beautiful young woman who learns that her deepest erotic and emotional connections are with other women, and who finds herself in a dangerous but seductive world of addicts, pimps, and prostitutes. Desperately seeking to make her life meaningful, and to redeem her mother's suffering, she studies at University of California, Berkeley - paying her way by working as a burlesque stripper. At last she becomes Lillian, a brilliant student and the woman who becomes a loving partner, a devoted mother, an acclaimed writer and ground-breaking pioneer of gay and lesbian scholarship. Told with wrenching immediacy and great power, this is an extraordinary memoir: the nakedly honest story of an exceptional woman and her remarkable, unorthodox life.

$12.94

Save:$1.28 (9%)

Quantity

2 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 480
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Bloomsbury Reader
Published: 06 Feb 2020
ISBN 10: 1448217539
ISBN 13: 9781448217533

Media Reviews

Lillian Faderman's portrait of her mother and aunt, lone survivors of their slaughtered family, who have come to America laden with hope, is full of tenderness and candor and sharp, often hilarious wit. It is her unsparing portrait of herself, however, that makes this book so riveting. She is serious and ambitious, loving and stubborn. She is ready to risk everything for knowledge. She also writes beautiful sentences, and her book is likely to become a classic self-portrait in a time of change in America -- Colm Toibin
A startling, dark, and wryly eloquent retelling of the American Dream. Who'd have thought a professor's life could be such a gripping page-turner? -- Emma Donoghue, author of ROOM and THE WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO RABBITS
How one woman used her good looks to land the girl of her dreams, and found a career where she could use her brains instead of her breasts. Today Lillian Faderman is a distinguished academic; her early days among Holocaust-scarred relatives and lesbian pimps on Sunset Strip are a testament to a personal vision in the face of historical struggle -- Sarah Schulman, author of THE COSMOPOLITANS, RAT BOHEMIANS and MY AMERICAN HISTORY
A remarkable tale of emergence, bold and exciting, and wonderfully told -- Vivian Gornick, author of FIERCE ATTACHMENTS
This riveting autobiography is vivid, honest, generous, compassionate, and sensuous all at once. Its strength lies in its understanding of historical moments that are important to all women and its ability to make them come alive in a very personal way for each one of us -- Chitra Divakaruni, author of THE VINE OF DESIRE and THE UNKNOWN ERRORS OF OUR LIVES
An incredible memoir of a damaged mother and her observant daughter. Lillian Faderman has written with an amazing voice, a clear-eyed view, and wisdom on how we both save and surmount the past. Hers is a life that is truly worth recording and sharing with all of us. The photos alone are worth the price of admission. -- Amy Tan, author of THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT, THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER and THE JOY LUCK CLUB

Author Bio

Lillian Faderman is an internationally known scholar of lesbian history and literature, as well as ethnic history and literature. Among her many honors are six Lambda Literary Awards, two American Library Association Awards, and several lifetime achievement awards for scholarship. She is the author of Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death,The Gay Revolution, Surpassing the Love of Men, and Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, all New York Times Notable Books.