With a flick of his locks and a lash of his tongue, Boy George waltzed into musical stardom in 1982 with his smash hit "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" As the quintessential pop star of the 1980s, Boy George was constantly in the public eye, with a string of platinum Culture Club hits, sensational personal appearances, camp behavior, and gender-bending dress fueling the media's infatuation. A Grammy Award for "Karma Chameleon" sealed Boy George's pop-icon status as the avant-garde star whose beguiling melodies and impertinent one-liners seduced an unsuspecting public.

But after he reached the pinnacle of success, his life took a devastating turn. Culture Club went into eclipse, his hushed-up relationship with drummer Jon Moss fell apart, and Boy George found a new and dangerous obsession: drugs.

In this electrifying memoir, Boy George tells the story of the crazy highs and desperate lows; the family struggles; the friends and lovers--gay, straight, and transvestite; the obsessive media infatuation; and the agony, shame, and despair of withdrawal. Filled with confession, revelation, and inspiration, Take It Like a Man is the mesmerizing account of how George achieved the nearly impossible--coming back from addiction and achieving health, sobriety, and a new horizon of musical success.