Literature / Press & broadcasting
Norah Vincent
1968–2022 · journalist, columnist, author
Columnist and author of Self-Made Man, the account of living as a man for 18 months, who was born in Detroit to a Ford Motor Company lawyer.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Switzerland
aged 53- Birth name
- Norah Mary Vincent
- Detroit years
- 1968–1980s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Vincent was born in Detroit and spent part of her childhood there, as well as abroad, where her father worked as a lawyer for the Ford Motor Company. After studying philosophy at Williams College she became an outspoken, often contrarian columnist for the Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, Salon and The Advocate. Her 2006 book Self-Made Man, in which she described passing as a man named Ned for a year and a half, became a bestseller and a widely debated experiment in gender. A second immersion book, Voluntary Madness (2008), followed her stays in psychiatric institutions. She died in Switzerland in 2022.
Highlights
- Self-Made Man (2006), a New York Times bestseller
- Voluntary Madness (2008), on the mental-health system
- Columnist for the Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice and The Advocate
- Born in Detroit, daughter of a Ford Motor Company lawyer