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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
As a trans masculine person at the start of my medical transition (been doing the social thing for awhile now) this book was painfully relatable. It was hard to read so many of my own thoughts reflected back at me. Of course, I started my social transition at 20 so most of it was completely unrelatable to me and yet the trans experience is so universal. Even a wealthy British man with four kids I find relatable. Weird.
Despite all of this- the best part of this book to me was Oliver’s relationship with his children. Incredible to watch their journey and relationship navigate these new territories without changing. I loved how Oliver pulled his children into the experience, answering any question, embracing them when they hated it etc. It was beautiful. And I love his attachment to motherhood. (I say instead of parenthood because his experience was so explicitly womanised for so long). Yay for Oliver and his parents and children. A great read.
Despite all of this- the best part of this book to me was Oliver’s relationship with his children. Incredible to watch their journey and relationship navigate these new territories without changing. I loved how Oliver pulled his children into the experience, answering any question, embracing them when they hated it etc. It was beautiful. And I love his attachment to motherhood. (I say instead of parenthood because his experience was so explicitly womanised for so long). Yay for Oliver and his parents and children. A great read.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I read this because I saw @shane_the_reading_rat on StoryGraph give it 5 stars and I had one more Audible credit left to spend. Wish I could comment on here but thank you Shane for sharing!! This was incredible.
I'm a cishet woman so I don't directly relate to Oliver's story, but I did understand a lot of what he felt as a suburban mom being trapped by expectations. And everything about his journey to discovering his identity, first as a lesbian and then as a trans man, was so heartwarming and eye-opening to me. I looove a good self-discovery story, but I usually get that through middle grade or young adult books. There's something so special about seeing an adult finally discover who they truly are after so many years (omg I'm crying now writing this).
I do think the first 20ish% was a bit rough as the chapters switched back and forth between two different timelines, and I felt like I was missing a lot of context. But I eventually got it, and once the book started focusing on the one timeline, it was easier to follow and really engaging. I did wonder what it was like for Radclyffe to be pregnant and give birth, something traditionally so associated with femininity, but he only briefly touched on that (as is his right). He mostly focused on his childhood and the years leading up to his coming out after his first realization.
Radclyffe was super honest and went into a lot of detail about his personal life that sometimes felt like I was a voyeur watching a reality show. I think this book would indulge a lot of people's desire for gossip haha. Radclyffe showed the reactions of everyone in his life, and I feel like he gave the ones who reacted badly quite a bit of grace as he tried to think through their thought processes. Which made the reactions of those who reacted positively even more emotional (I'm so glad his dad instantly changed his mind about gay people and supported him!! Plus the scene with the queer support group was wonderful ). I loved seeing all the support groups he went to--it was such a different experience than what I feel like gen Zs and younger millennials would do in his situation.
I'll always remember the scene in the sex shop,where he said he found his penis and realized that he was holding his dick in broad daylight and got embarrassed. It was so funny and heartwarming at the same time, which I feel like describes the mood of this book so well. Radclyffe was so open with both his struggles and his triumphs, and I loved following along with his journey. I highly recommend this book for everyone, and I wish Oliver the best!!
I'm a cishet woman so I don't directly relate to Oliver's story, but I did understand a lot of what he felt as a suburban mom being trapped by expectations. And everything about his journey to discovering his identity, first as a lesbian and then as a trans man, was so heartwarming and eye-opening to me. I looove a good self-discovery story, but I usually get that through middle grade or young adult books. There's something so special about seeing an adult finally discover who they truly are after so many years (omg I'm crying now writing this).
I do think the first 20ish% was a bit rough as the chapters switched back and forth between two different timelines, and I felt like I was missing a lot of context. But I eventually got it, and once the book started focusing on the one timeline, it was easier to follow and really engaging. I did wonder what it was like for Radclyffe to be pregnant and give birth, something traditionally so associated with femininity, but he only briefly touched on that (as is his right). He mostly focused on his childhood and the years leading up to his coming out after his first realization.
Radclyffe was super honest and went into a lot of detail about his personal life that sometimes felt like I was a voyeur watching a reality show. I think this book would indulge a lot of people's desire for gossip haha. Radclyffe showed the reactions of everyone in his life, and I feel like he gave the ones who reacted badly quite a bit of grace as he tried to think through their thought processes. Which made the reactions of those who reacted positively even more emotional (
I'll always remember the scene in the sex shop,
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I picked this book up based on the title (I'd been looking for horse-based memoirs), and although it has absolutely nothing to do with horses, I was so happy to read this! Oliver's is a story that needs told and needs heard, and I really appreciated the vulnerability and the gentle way he wrote his own story and depicted the people in his life. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the writing style didn't wow me, but it's abs lutely not a hindrance either, and the storytelling is really lovely!
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced