Introducing Frighten the Horses by Oliver Radclyffe
A new memoir from Roxane Gay Books, out now
When I first read Oliver Radclyffe’s Frighten the Horses in manuscript form, I was struck by the power of Oliver’s voice and how clearly and honestly he shared his journey to the man he is today. His, is a unique story. He is British, a member of the upper-crust. He married, had four children and was living what seemed like the perfect life—a daughter of privilege espoused to a son of privilege, the white picket fence around the big, beautiful home, and a golden retriever named Biscuit. The truth, as is so often the case, was much more complicated.
Beneath the sheen of a beautifully composed life, Oliver was desperately trying to stay afloat as he struggled to play the role expected of him—his hair was falling out in clumps, he couldn’t eat, and his mood swings often brought him to tears. And then, on an otherwise unremarkable afternoon in September, Oliver Radclyffe woke up and realized the life of a housewife in a gilded cage was not one he was ever meant to live. In fact, Oliver had spent his entire life denying the deepest, truest parts of himself. In the wake of this realization, he began the challenging, messy journey toward self-acceptance and living a truer life, knowing he risked the life he’d built to do so.
A lot of trans coming of age narratives are written by people who have the necessary vocabulary for identifying what they’re experiencing and why. In Frighten the Horses, it is clear that for a time, Radclyffe did not know what he did not know. What he did know, however, is that something wasn’t right, that he wasn’t living as his truest self, that the only life he had ever known, was not the life he wanted or, frankly, needed.
As Oliver details his story, we witness how he begins to develop the necessary vocabulary to articulate his experiences and his alone. Oliver navigates leaving a long marriage and reintroducing himself to his children. And despite the challenges he faces, Oliver makes clear that there was no way for him to go back to the beautiful lie of his previous life, not if he wanted to survive. Throughout the memoir, Oliver navigates many different emotional terrains with grace and candor. He brings his British wit and wryness to beautiful prose.
Frighten the Horses is a trans man’s coming of age story. This memoir is the story of a flawed, fascinating, gorgeously queer man. Frighten the Horses introduces Oliver Radclyffe as a witty, arresting, unforgettable voice.
Thus far the book has received starred reviews in Kirkus and Library Journal. Also, Bookpage offered a rave! The book was reviewed thoughtfully in The New York Times though I have a few things I would push back on, and John Warner also reviewed the book on his Substack The Biblioracle.
In support of his memoir, Oliver has an essay on motorcycling in Them and an essay on personal archives and how they reflect the sum of our parts in The Gay and Lesbian Review. You can also listen to Oliver on the Gender Stories podcast. It was also great to see Frighten the Horses in fall book roundups from Oprah and LGBTQ Reads and Newsday and Debutiful and People.
I am proud to have played a small part in bringing Frighten the Horses into the world and I also want to thank Oliver Jeffers for designing such a beautiful, whimsical cover that so aptly captures the spirit of the book. The RGB fellow Clara Tamez worked on this book over the course of the past year and it would not be here without her efforts. Joseph Payne keeps things moving along the production schedule with impressive efficiency. Jenny Choi, Brian Ulicky and others worked on publicity and marketing. Amy Hundley is an integral part of all RGB books. And really, at Grove/RGB, as at all publishers, many hands make bringing these books alive possible. Shout out to all of those hands.
Nice!
Wow.
First of all, what a great way to bury the lede. You are a master.
Secondly, I somehow missed the memo about you moving kindly and gently into the publishing world. What a great thing!
It’s been years since I have bought a book on the basis of a review or recommendation. This is a first and I’m very excited. Thank you for helping usher in someone who brings, clearly, a very special voice.