In My First Thirty Years, Gertrude Beasley lays bare what others only dared to whisper. Raised in poverty and violence in early 20th-century Texas, Beasley refused silence. Her memoirblunt, bold, and decades ahead of its timewas banned shortly after publication for its searing depictions of sexual abuse, class struggle, and a woman's fight for bodily autonomy. With unflinching prose and fierce clarity, Beasley dismantles the myths of the noble frontier and exposes the brutal reality many women endured. A teacher, journalist, and activist, she carved a life of resistanceonly to vanish under mysterious circumstances. Today, her voice roars back. This isn't just a memoir. It's a revolution in print.
LOCATION: F371.10092 BEA
