The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul

The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul

RuPaul's memoir The House of Hidden Meanings was published in 2024 but he had already published several books by that time, although this one is less self-help and less art collection than it is pure memoir. It deals with addiction, cancer, domestic abuse, bullying, drug abuse, grief, death of a parent, abandonment, and alcohol but in a way that does not get particularly graphic and was not difficult to read.

This book details RuPaul's life from when he was a child in San Diego living with his parents, spanning their divorce, his childhood, moving to Atlanta with his sister, learning about and becoming for comfortable in the gay community and later the punk and drag entertainment communities, moving to New York, and eventually becoming well known as an entertainer and the problems that having a bunch of money can bring if you aren't careful. He does not get too in depth with most topics but spends a lot of time discussing the loneliness that he felt and what it meant to find his people.

Let me start by saying that RuPaul fought his way to stardom with a distinct focus and steadfast desire to be just that... a star. The things that he lived through, it couldn't be me. From traveling to New York with no money and few possessions and sleeping on park benches when he had nowhere else to stay to reinventing himself when needed to stay on top and continually find hidden pieces of himself. He points out that this book is from his point of view and to the best of his memory, which I appreciated. It was well written and fast paced, RuPaul has a great way of describing the people you meet as the story plays out. But I did not feel like it was very deep. While RuPaul spoke quite a bit on the loneliness he felt throughout his life, I have to imagine that there are parts of this story where he was angrier than he describes or felt more of some emotion, and I wish it would have been a little more raw and honest.

RuPaul's House of Hidden Meanings gets 3.75 out of 5 stars from me. While it felt a little too surface level for me, it was still an interesting and entertaining read and made me appreciate RuPaul the entertainer even more.

For more from RuPaul, check out his website at https://rupaul.com/

Pairs well with a cup of cafe con leche and realizing that you're born naked, the rest is drag.

My favorite quote: "...she gave me the name RuPaul because, as she put it, 'Ain't no motherf---er alive with a name like that.'" said as RuPaul explains that a psychic told his mother that the baby boy she was pregnant with was going to be famous one day.