by Chaz Bono
First published 2002
At twenty-three, Chastity Bono stands at the threshold of independence from her famous parents, Cher and Sonny Bono. Geffen Records has signed her band Ceremony, and musical stardom beckons. Then she falls for Joan Stephens, one of her mother's longtime friends. What starts as an unexpected romance grows into the deep partnership both women have searched for. But Chastity's music career begins crumbling under record company politics and internal band conflicts. These setbacks become secondary when Joan receives a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. As Joan fights her cancer with fierce determination, Chastity watches her musical dreams collapse entirely. She transforms from aspiring rock star to caretaker and devoted partner, discovering reserves of strength and love she never knew existed. The memoir traces how illness reshapes their relationship, intensifying both intimacy and the specter of loss as Joan's condition worsens. Through Joan's decline, Chastity confronts what matters most when everything else falls away.
Genres: contemporary, memoir, biography-memoir, music, 21st-century, lgbt
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, illness, loss
Period: 21st-century
244 pages · Hardcover · Advocate Books
Content warnings: terminal-illness