The House of Hidden Meanings
-
-
4.5 • 201 Ratings
-
-
- $19.99
Publisher Description
***An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!***
From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date--a deeply intimate memoir of discovery, found family, and self-acceptance. The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag.
Central to RuPaul’s success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world’s largest television franchises, RuPaul’s ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and supermogul. Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known.
In The House of Hidden Meanings, RuPaul strips away all artifice and recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography life-story, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history.
Here in RuPaul’s singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living—a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly.
A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag. “I've always loved to view the world with analytical eyes, examining what lies beneath the surface. Here, the focus is on my own life—as RuPaul Andre Charles,” says RuPaul.
If we’re all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
For many, the creator and host of RuPaul’s Drag Race is the epitome of fierceness and inspiration. But it took the usually guarded RuPaul decades of life experience to gain the confidence and wisdom that’s made him an icon—which he finally shares in this candid memoir. We get to meet the teen RuPaul Charles of the ’70s, who struggled with his Black queer identity and later found an unexpected haven for his gender nonconformity in the unruly thrash of the ’80s Georgia post-punk scene. His journey goes on from there, cutting through the worlds of drag, underground cinema, and the recording industry, and throughout it all, the mood remains captivatingly introspective. This isn’t a typical celebrity memoir; RuPaul rarely speaks about his major career accomplishments, instead focusing on personal stories, relationships, and the evolution of his identity. Even the subdued tone of his beautifully practiced voice will tell you this is a side of RuPaul you’ve never seen.
Customer Reviews
Love
The book is great, but really wanted more. When Ru discussed her mom’s passing it was so touching. I lost my mom and I too was there for her when she needed me the most.
Extraordinary. Powerful. Beautiful.
Extraordinary.
Powerful.
Beautiful.
“The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir” by RuPaul is my first full book and audiobook for the year and I found it so poignant, funny, and, at times, astonishing in its brilliance.
I found it so extraordinary and powerful to follow RuPaul’s words and stories and weave magic and beauty into the everyday. It felt like such a gift to hear this book as told unabridged by the author.
I think one of the gifts RuPaul presents readers and listeners like myself is the value and unlimited freedom of being vulnerable and how much strength and vulnerability can be found and discovered within ourselves when we learn to own and love ourselves and the hidden truths and unexpected curveballs life throws our way.
There is nothing shameful or debased or uncomfortable about this book no matter how challenging or sensitive the topics can sometimes feel. Rather, RuPaul takes the bull by its horns and tries to unpack and dismantle different areas of life from childhood and youth to taking risks to become the star we know and love today and explore family, intimacy, community, and belonging along the way. It is not just a story of queerness and overcoming life and all its obstacles. It is also a story of universal beauty and the triumph of stepping into our most authentic, loving and compassionate parts of ourselves.
I am so grateful for this book and I would recommend to anyone to enjoy! You will definitely laugh at least once, maybe even cry, and learn something new about yourself.
Thank you RuPaul for this gift!
Guillaume Vandame
15 February 2025
💞
Loved it.
Outstanding! I’ll admit this book was nothing like I thought it would be. The depths of the author continue to surprise and amaze me. Highly recommend to everyone .