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colorfulleo92's review
5.0
As someone who just got to understand my own gender (or lack off, to be honest) found this to be very helpful and I recognized myself a bit in each person but absolutely more than I've ever done in a book. Great way to start reading more about the subject as I keep learning more about myself everyday. The audiobook was well narrated and I liked that they kept the same narrator on everyone and that they still sounded like their own unique person.
leighbeevee's review
2.0
I was excited to read this, but I didn't feel like any new ground was covered. There were a few essays that were Interesting, but I felt like the collection was underwhelming.
bastimapache's review
5.0
Colección de breves textos escritos por personas de todo tipo de identidad trans*, desde variados trasfondos culturales y sociales, pero casi todas desembarcando finamente en identidades no binarias. Definitivamente recomendado para cualquier persona que viva un proceso de transición de género y se sienta perdida. Las voces contenidas en este libro son como manos tendidas para ayudarte a encontrar un camino muchas veces tenue. Realmente es maravilloso poder conocer de primera fuente experiencias trans de todo tipo, los modos en que se dieron cuenta de quienes eran, sus estrategias para llevar a cabo sus cambios, la recepción de su entorno, la forma en que pueden llegar a encontrar paz con identidades no binarias. Hace sentir que no se está solx en esto.
jugglingpup's review
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I spend a lot of my time reading about binary trans identities. That is the world that makes the most sense to me since I am a binary trans person. I lived in Berkeley for a while and absolutely hated it. I figured out it was because the trans space that was so anti-binary that it became a social death sentence to identify binary. I felt erased and hated. I wanted to read this book to start to put some of my own issues with the nonbinary community aside, since I didn’t have any issues with nonbinary people or the movement until I lived in Berkeley. I wanted to feel like the trans community was home again, all of it. This book brought me back to the nonbinary community I was used to. One full of power, love, acceptance, and courage. One that acknowledges that being binary isn’t sinful, but it just doesn’t work for them. One full of questions, lots of thinking, and lots of experimentation. The sort of community that gives me hope for the trans community, that is will one day come together instead of being filled with in-fighting.
The book covers really important topics ranging from being trans enough to what a transition looks like to feeling erased by the trans community. All of the feelings I have had throughout my transition being binary. The only difference being I had more support being binary that the nonbinary people in this collection did. I wish I could support them all. I wish I could have been part of the groups they joined trying to find a home. I would have been the first one to welcome them. No trans person should ever wrestle with the idea that they are or are not trans enough. They should never feel like they don’t belong in a trans space. We should all support each other. I hope this book finds people who are questioning their gender and their expression. It opens so many doors into what nonbinary could look like and asks so many questions. It will be a great resource for people.
The book really hit home for me and taught me so much about a world I only ever got glimpses of through friends and my own understanding of gender. It also affirmed something that has been in the back of my mind for years. It also made me feel more comfortable with my own body. I haven’t had bottom surgery. This book made me feel less pressure to have bottom surgery, to conform to the stereotype of a transition. I want bottom surgery, but it opened the door to really question why I want it. Do I want it because that is what I expect trans people to want? Do I want it because it is right for me? This book opens up so many ideas of what it means to be trans. The answer I got was easy: if you feel like you are trans, then you are trans. If you feel nonbinary, you do you. Do whatever sort of transition works for you. Don’t be ashamed, don’t be afraid, but if you are you are not alone.
I know this review was all about my binary gender, but that is the only lens I have to understand the people who told their stories. Their stories are not mine, but they had similar themes as my world. I want to be as confident as the people telling their stories.
I got an ARC of this book.
I spend a lot of my time reading about binary trans identities. That is the world that makes the most sense to me since I am a binary trans person. I lived in Berkeley for a while and absolutely hated it. I figured out it was because the trans space that was so anti-binary that it became a social death sentence to identify binary. I felt erased and hated. I wanted to read this book to start to put some of my own issues with the nonbinary community aside, since I didn’t have any issues with nonbinary people or the movement until I lived in Berkeley. I wanted to feel like the trans community was home again, all of it. This book brought me back to the nonbinary community I was used to. One full of power, love, acceptance, and courage. One that acknowledges that being binary isn’t sinful, but it just doesn’t work for them. One full of questions, lots of thinking, and lots of experimentation. The sort of community that gives me hope for the trans community, that is will one day come together instead of being filled with in-fighting.
The book covers really important topics ranging from being trans enough to what a transition looks like to feeling erased by the trans community. All of the feelings I have had throughout my transition being binary. The only difference being I had more support being binary that the nonbinary people in this collection did. I wish I could support them all. I wish I could have been part of the groups they joined trying to find a home. I would have been the first one to welcome them. No trans person should ever wrestle with the idea that they are or are not trans enough. They should never feel like they don’t belong in a trans space. We should all support each other. I hope this book finds people who are questioning their gender and their expression. It opens so many doors into what nonbinary could look like and asks so many questions. It will be a great resource for people.
The book really hit home for me and taught me so much about a world I only ever got glimpses of through friends and my own understanding of gender. It also affirmed something that has been in the back of my mind for years. It also made me feel more comfortable with my own body. I haven’t had bottom surgery. This book made me feel less pressure to have bottom surgery, to conform to the stereotype of a transition. I want bottom surgery, but it opened the door to really question why I want it. Do I want it because that is what I expect trans people to want? Do I want it because it is right for me? This book opens up so many ideas of what it means to be trans. The answer I got was easy: if you feel like you are trans, then you are trans. If you feel nonbinary, you do you. Do whatever sort of transition works for you. Don’t be ashamed, don’t be afraid, but if you are you are not alone.
I know this review was all about my binary gender, but that is the only lens I have to understand the people who told their stories. Their stories are not mine, but they had similar themes as my world. I want to be as confident as the people telling their stories.
pennym_'s review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
loved the diversity of stories included in this collection. i wish the audiobook had included titles and author names in the chapter headers so i could make note of my favorites. i do think this could have used a little more editing just with the structure of all of these stories. many of them follow the authors development from child to teen to adult and it did make them start to blur together a bit. but otherwise i found the essays to be well written and full of great discussions on gender, identity, sexuality, family, mental health, sociology, race, and much much more
christinecasey's review
4.0
I didn’t quite understand how the author grouped the book into 5 themes. The themes didn’t stand out, but the stories together did. Thirty representations of diverse nonbinary experiences.
I’ve always thought gender norms were bullshit, but this book really has me thinking further about why gender binary construct has such an important role in society. So many times (in real life) I’ve thought, why? Why does it matter if one is assigned female at birth (AFAB) or AMAB? But naively I never quite considered how different the non-binary experience was from the transgender experience.
Despite hating gender norms, I am conditioned by a “check a box” society, and during these stories I found my mind wandering through the various journeys of the individuals’ transition and gender and tying it back to where they started. I think having so many stories in a row, enabled my brain to finally stop doing this and just accept the story as it unfolded; hear the author for who they were in that moment.
I learned a lot from reading these stories, and I think it puts me in a position to be a better ally when called upon.
I’ve always thought gender norms were bullshit, but this book really has me thinking further about why gender binary construct has such an important role in society. So many times (in real life) I’ve thought, why? Why does it matter if one is assigned female at birth (AFAB) or AMAB? But naively I never quite considered how different the non-binary experience was from the transgender experience.
Despite hating gender norms, I am conditioned by a “check a box” society, and during these stories I found my mind wandering through the various journeys of the individuals’ transition and gender and tying it back to where they started. I think having so many stories in a row, enabled my brain to finally stop doing this and just accept the story as it unfolded; hear the author for who they were in that moment.
I learned a lot from reading these stories, and I think it puts me in a position to be a better ally when called upon.
minimicropup's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This collection of memoirs may be cathartic, confusing, frustrating, or informative depending on your background and perspectives going in. Each memoir is a different experience, so you're likely to find at least some that resonate or hit harder than others, and some that you disagree with. Some essays have an undertone of loss and injustice, others sarcasm and wit, and others are philosophical and explorative (plus everything in between).
This isn't a direct teaching non-fiction book, so if you are planning to read this for straightforward instructions and information on what non-binary consists of and what to "say" to someone who identifies as such, this isn't going to accomplish that. Rather, it offers up the perspectives, hopes, struggles, and meaning from many different persons with different backgrounds (including those who love a non-binary family member or partner). I enjoyed it because they do contradict each other sometimes, showing how being non-binary is a HUMAN experience, like so many other human experiences.
And I did learn from these essays, actually! I learned how complex and not "one size fits all" non-binary life is and how difficult it even is to define gender and make the world a safer place for all. The stories helped me see that I tend to overthink and worry about hurting others who are non-binary, instead of just asking, letting people be, and LISTENING, rather than trying to find the right answer before even meeting or getting to know someone. Being too eager or assumptive kinda makes it seem like a shameful thing, right?
This collection helps break stereotypes. No one group or belief system is picked on in any way and they all read as genuine. Although I don't identify as non-binary, I related to many of the experiences and hopes of the writers, so it was a connecting feeling for me, not something meant to ostracize or guilt.
P.S. Can we as a species stop being so obsessed with classifying and categorizing? Let's love a spectrum sometimes.
Format: Library Paperback
[I generally don't leave star ratings for memoirs, biographies, or true stories]
This isn't a direct teaching non-fiction book, so if you are planning to read this for straightforward instructions and information on what non-binary consists of and what to "say" to someone who identifies as such, this isn't going to accomplish that. Rather, it offers up the perspectives, hopes, struggles, and meaning from many different persons with different backgrounds (including those who love a non-binary family member or partner). I enjoyed it because they do contradict each other sometimes, showing how being non-binary is a HUMAN experience, like so many other human experiences.
And I did learn from these essays, actually! I learned how complex and not "one size fits all" non-binary life is and how difficult it even is to define gender and make the world a safer place for all. The stories helped me see that I tend to overthink and worry about hurting others who are non-binary, instead of just asking, letting people be, and LISTENING, rather than trying to find the right answer before even meeting or getting to know someone. Being too eager or assumptive kinda makes it seem like a shameful thing, right?
This collection helps break stereotypes. No one group or belief system is picked on in any way and they all read as genuine. Although I don't identify as non-binary, I related to many of the experiences and hopes of the writers, so it was a connecting feeling for me, not something meant to ostracize or guilt.
P.S. Can we as a species stop being so obsessed with classifying and categorizing? Let's love a spectrum sometimes.
Format: Library Paperback
[I generally don't leave star ratings for memoirs, biographies, or true stories]
perpetualguest's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0