My Body Is Distant: A Memoir

(Paperback)

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Part trans womans coming-out story and part queer romance, My Body Is Distant is a memoir immersed in virtual worlds, where identity is fluid and fantasies proliferate, and where Maylott can escape her battle with cancer and the life-altering decisions she must make about the body she was born in and the person she really is.

An electrifying and vulnerable memoir that invites readers into an intimate conversation about our digital and physical selves, gender, and belonging.

In My Body Is Distant, Paige Maylott writes about her life both virtual and IRL as she explores her authentic self and sexuality through dream-like virtual worlds. While Paige dances in online BDSM clubs and hurls spells on virtual battlefields, she is swept into a fairy tale romance that pushes her into discovery mode: How can she transcend her carefully curated computer universe and manifest that happiness in the real world

As she discovers the person she is meant to be, Paige contends with a cancer diagnosis and an imploding marriage while struggling to convert an online love story into reality. When a humiliation at work provides the necessary push to transition, Paige finds the freedom to explore her new self.

Part trans womans coming-out story and part heartfelt romance, My Body Is Distant follows Paige from a childhood obsession with the 1980s game Zork, through a health crisis and divorce, to, ultimately, an affirmation of authenticity and self-love.

'My Body Is Distant is a trans coming out story like no other. Beautifully crafted, propulsive and by turns heartbreaking and funny, Paige Maylott offers us a guided tour of gaming communities and virtual romance, and how they can create collisions and liberation in real life.' Farzana Doctor, author ofSevenandYou Still Look the Same

Reviews

"My Body Is Distant is a trans coming out story like no other. Beautifully crafted, propulsive and by turns heartbreaking and funny, Paige Maylott offers us a guided tour of gaming communities and virtual romance, and how they can create collisions and liberation in real life." --Farzana Doctor, author of Seven and You Still Look the Same

Author Bio

Paige Maylott is a writer, gamer, and explorer of virtual worlds based in Hamilton, Ontario. She is a 2021 Hamilton Arts & Letters Award winner for Creative Non-Fiction, and a recipient of the 2022 Canada Council for the Arts grant.