The End of Innocence: A Memoir

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Chastity Bono has faced her share of battles as a spokesperson for gay and lesbian rights, both as the controversial former entertainment and media director for GLAAD, and before that in the early '90s when a national tabloid maliciously outed her. In this riveting memoir she recounts a story of love, commitment, and tragedy lived out beyond the glare of the cameras. At 23, Chastity was well on her way to establishing her own life separate from her superstar parents, Cher and Sonny Bono. Geffen Records had just signed her band, Ceremony, and she was poised for musical stardom. And best of all, a love affair began to blossom with Joan Stephens, one of Cher's friends whom Chastity had known all her life. In what began as an unlikely relationship, Chastity and Joan found and nurtured the sort of tender, loving partnership they had both been seeking. But Chastity's aspirations for a life in music were soon thwarted by internal struggles and record company machinations that threatened to destroy Ceremony. These problems, however, paled in comparison with the devastating news of Joan's diagnosis with life-threatening non-Hodgkins lymphoma. As Joan fiercely battled her illness, Chastity's musical career imploded. Chastity became both caretaker and lover, discovering a depth and beauty that intensified the feeling of loss as Joan succumbed to the ravages of cancer. A story of love won and lost, of dreams fulfilled and destroyed, "Joan "is a coming-of-age story that provides a deeply personal look into the private struggles of a very public and courageous woman.

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Advance Reader Copies
National Advertising: "The Advocate"
Author Appearances: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Houston

Chastity Bono is the former Entertainment and Media Director for GLAAD a former reporter at large for "The Advocate." She is also the author of "Family Outing." Michele Kort is a freelance writer whose writing has appeared in the "Los Angeles Times Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Shape, Redbook, Self,

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Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
7
Section 3
32
Copyright

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About the author (2002)

Chastity Bono is the entertainment and media director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). In 1996 she became the National Coming Out Project spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization. Chastity Bono was born in Los Angeles on March 4, 1969 to the entertainers Sonny and Cher. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York and spend a year at New York University. Bono was a writer and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, and also became the Entertainment Media Director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. She currently writes for The Advocate. Bono wrote Family Outing, a book about the hardships and rewards of being gay in today's society. Bono lives in Los Angeles.

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