Excuse Me, Sir! Memoir of a Butch

2025 Finalist Next Generation Indie Book Award for LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction 2024 Finalist IAN Book Of the Year Awards LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction 2024 Winner IPPY Silver Award for Best Non-Fiction Audio Book “This book is exemplary in character appeal (or interest) and development. All main characters (including antagonists) are unique and fully fleshed out with compelling, layered motivations and traits. Secondary characters are unique and have a meaningful purpose. Shaley Howard’s smiling face makes for a welcoming cover. In fact, the use of pictures within this memoir helped tell the story. There is a flow to this book, which helps the reader stay engaged.” -Writers Digest "Shaley Howard’s “Excuse Me, Sir” is an honest & revealing account of the struggles of growing up feeling different while searching for answers in drugs and alcohol. Shaley’s search for safety can resonate with anyone who has ever been bullied or called-out because of who they are. Her struggles, failures, and “a-ha” moments in this book could help save a life and save relationships, and it is this honesty that I appreciated from page one." -Christine Havrilla, songwriter/singer/musician "Shaley Howard excels at telling her own story of being closeted and addicted, offering hard truths along with a healthy dose of humor. She reminds us that even in the grip of life’s toughest moments, we can still laugh, and find it in ourselves to come back to the life we deserve to live." -Whitney Otto, Bestselling Author of How to Make an American Quilt Summary As a young child, in many ways, Shaley didn’t stand a chance. Growing up as a closeted lesbian in the 1970’s, in a dysfunctional family with an often mentally unstable mother, the only thing on her mind was survival. Turning to alcohol and drugs at an early age, she thought she’d found the perfect escape from the shame of being gay and her mother’s erratic emotional roller-coaster ride. Excuse Me, Sir! Memoir of a Butch, is a story of the outsider. It’s about what it means to be marginalized, the journey of overcoming and enduring the agony of addiction and how even in our darkest times, we can still find levity, laughter and hope.