Marshall’s book, in staying so firmly focused on his specific experience, offers a different kind of solidarity. Though I don’t have cerebral palsy, I cringed, gasped, and smiled in recognition of some of Marshall’s childhood experiences ... Abandoning the obfuscation with which many of us learn to talk about disability is hard, even when the only people we’re convincing with our vague wording are ourselves. But in Leg, Marshall makes a convincing argument that becoming more open is also a path out of shame. We need as many writers as possible who, like Marshall, are willing to say the silent part out loud.
It feels weird to say that Leg is hilarious, but it’s true. The exploits of the Marshalls are those of a family that refuses to be buried by hardship and instead develops a great sense of humor ... Marshall’s memoir is also a gay coming-of-age story ... Never slows in its energy, hope and warmth.
Hoo boy, Leg is the kind of book that makes you hyperventilate. On many, very many pages, there’s boisterous, Saturday-morning-cartoon-like, going-in-five-different-directions chaos that might be sibling-based, it might be parental, deeply personal, humorous, relational, or sexual – and on that note, hoo boy, there are some wildly messy and explicit pages to find here. Author Greg Marshall writes candidly about his sex life, doors wide open, sometimes literally. Ah, but he also writes about the kind of love that’s wrapped in a scrap of fleece and handled carefully, the kind that feels like it might blow away if you’re not careful. That’s a delicate thing in the midst of a madcap tale of a limb and the gay man attached to it, and it’s sneaky, too: you’ll be looking every-which-way at Marshall’s life and boom! Tears. Give yourself some time with this book, and breathe deep. Most readers will find it chaotic but thoroughly enjoyable for beach read, airport, or a staycation. Don’t skip Leg or you’ll kick yourself.
As it ponders the question of whether knowing the truth about his limp early on would have made a difference in Marshall’s life, the book also reveals how stigmas around living with disabilities have evolved in tandem with hopeful medical strides. It is marked by humor; family bonds form its inspirational core ... Marshall’s memories are marked by joy and heartbreak too: in time, he became his father’s caregiver. He took the position with occasional reluctance, though always remembering to ask for reminders that he was his father’s favorite when they said goodbye. Leg is a powerful memoir about overcoming obstacles with one’s sense of humor intact.
Marshall has written a riotously funny book that will grab your attention and steal your heart from the very first page. His writing brings to mind early David Sedaris, with its bitingly funny caricatures and descriptions, bathed in blistering commentary, deep-seated opinions, wit, intellect and, above all else, fierce family love ... Rare is the book that makes me both laugh out loud and shed actual tears, but Leg made me do both.
In a zesty, forthright series of humorous, heartfelt, and often wincingly oddball anecdotes, Marshall shares how his hypochondriacal family 'leaned into' all of 'life’s curveballs' ... A sparkling portrait of personal discovery and a celebration of family, forgiveness, and thriving with a disability.
