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somestuff's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
“Larry Levine once remarked ‘Renée, you have led the most unconventional of lives but have the most conventional views’.”
This feels like the most clear summary of a book that covers chasing a 13 year old son down to Jamaica when he ran away (from new york), learning to pilot planes in iowa, and suing to participate in pro-women’s tennis. Overall her life was really interesting and I found this book to be painfully honest. Especially at the end speaking of the regrets generated through living a life to the age of 70. I genuinely found Renèe’s politics and ideas to be very conservative throughout her recounting stories of her life. I found her perspective on her own ‘groundbreaking’ really interesting especially reading at a time with several (disgusting) attempts within the US to ban trans children from participating in sports.
“However, I have never wanted to be pigeonholed as a transsexual, and I don’t want to be remembered solely as one who took on the world in behalf of her kind and won an important battle. I am first and last an individual. When I think of myself, I don’t think “transsexual.” First, I am a doctor. If I have to characterize myself further, I am likely to say, “I am an old Blue.” A Yale graduate. Why? Because transsexuality is something that happened to me; whereas, graduating from Yale and from the University of Rochester Medical School are things I made happen.”
This feels like the most clear summary of a book that covers chasing a 13 year old son down to Jamaica when he ran away (from new york), learning to pilot planes in iowa, and suing to participate in pro-women’s tennis. Overall her life was really interesting and I found this book to be painfully honest. Especially at the end speaking of the regrets generated through living a life to the age of 70. I genuinely found Renèe’s politics and ideas to be very conservative throughout her recounting stories of her life. I found her perspective on her own ‘groundbreaking’ really interesting especially reading at a time with several (disgusting) attempts within the US to ban trans children from participating in sports.
“However, I have never wanted to be pigeonholed as a transsexual, and I don’t want to be remembered solely as one who took on the world in behalf of her kind and won an important battle. I am first and last an individual. When I think of myself, I don’t think “transsexual.” First, I am a doctor. If I have to characterize myself further, I am likely to say, “I am an old Blue.” A Yale graduate. Why? Because transsexuality is something that happened to me; whereas, graduating from Yale and from the University of Rochester Medical School are things I made happen.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide and Transphobia
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