Strange Tribe

the long version

This memoir reveals the peculiar dynamics between Ernest Hemingway and his youngest son, Gregory, the author's father. Gregory tried to live up to Ernest's macho reputation -- yet as a cross-dresser and (ultimately) a transsexual, Gregory was obsessed with his "female half," and he struggled with personal demons until his death. The media called Gregory the "black sheep" of the Hemingway family -- but his son wasn't so sure. Here he reveals how Ernest himself felt a special kinship with Gregory, and how the two men (who both suffered from bipolar illness and shared a fascination with androgyny) were actually two sides of the same coin, and that Gregory best exemplified Ernest's ideal of grace under pressure. This is also John's own story of what it was like growing up with his father and his schizophrenic mother, and how he ultimately fled the burden of the Hemingway name and family history. - Publisher.