memoirs

Why I’m Not Groaning About Geri Jewell’s Coming Out Book Title

Geri Jewell, who played Cousin Geri on NBC’s The Facts of Life, and became the first actor with a disability to appear regularly on a sitcom, has never been shy about her cerebral palsy, a condition she was born with. But new in her book I’m Walking As Straight As I Can: Transcending Disability in Hollywood and Beyond is her big reveal: she’s a lesbian. Get it?! “As Straight As I Can“?! It’s a double entendre that book publishers seem to love because it makes readers think twice when seeing the title on a bookshelf. But in this case I sort of love it, because the first joke Jewell delivered on Facts literally had to do with walking straight: “Don’t worry, I’m not drunk. I have cerebral palsy. When I’m drunk I was perfectly straight.” That’s actually funny, all these years later.

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