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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4 ⭐ CW: Transphobia, homophobia, homophobic slurs, bullying, suicide mention, suicidal thoughts, anxiety
Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt is a nonfiction book chronicalling the very public transition of Nicole Maines. This is a book I've been meaning to read for a while since Nicole and her family are from Maine, and are largely the reason transgender students in Maine gained the right to use the bathroom that best matches their gender identity. I also borrowed it from the Downeast Rainbow Alliance's (the organization I work for) lending library.
This book gives us a deep play by play of Nicole's life before she was Nicole and how her being a transgender girl affected her family and her experiences at school. We see that Nicole was very aware of being a girl and not a boy from a very young age, even when her father, Wayne, didn't want to accept that. We see how her mother Kelly fought endlessly for Nicole's right to be herself, as well as seeing Wayne's eventual acceptance of having a trans daughter.
We also see the family struggle with the harassment and bullying from kids and adults alike just for Nicole being who she was. Although this book came out a decade ago, it serves as an important historical perspective on what trans rights looked like before the information was widely available, known and understood. It shows the battles that had to be fought just to gain the simple right of going to the bathroom, which we are now still fighting under the current Presidential administration. It's so important to see how far we have come with transgender rights, even though we are taking steps backward as we speak. If there is one thing to take away from this book, is that the cat is out of the bag. Trans people are here to stay, and we won't stop fighting for our rights.
I didn't love all the background information we got on every single person talked about in here or the preoccupation with biology and science of transgender individuals, but I think this is a great place to start for those who want to understand what is at stake, especially for trans youth.
Nicole is now a happy, healthy adult, and an actress in Hollywood, and I am so proud that she and her family fought for our rights in the state of Maine.
Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt is a nonfiction book chronicalling the very public transition of Nicole Maines. This is a book I've been meaning to read for a while since Nicole and her family are from Maine, and are largely the reason transgender students in Maine gained the right to use the bathroom that best matches their gender identity. I also borrowed it from the Downeast Rainbow Alliance's (the organization I work for) lending library.
This book gives us a deep play by play of Nicole's life before she was Nicole and how her being a transgender girl affected her family and her experiences at school. We see that Nicole was very aware of being a girl and not a boy from a very young age, even when her father, Wayne, didn't want to accept that. We see how her mother Kelly fought endlessly for Nicole's right to be herself, as well as seeing Wayne's eventual acceptance of having a trans daughter.
We also see the family struggle with the harassment and bullying from kids and adults alike just for Nicole being who she was. Although this book came out a decade ago, it serves as an important historical perspective on what trans rights looked like before the information was widely available, known and understood. It shows the battles that had to be fought just to gain the simple right of going to the bathroom, which we are now still fighting under the current Presidential administration. It's so important to see how far we have come with transgender rights, even though we are taking steps backward as we speak. If there is one thing to take away from this book, is that the cat is out of the bag. Trans people are here to stay, and we won't stop fighting for our rights.
I didn't love all the background information we got on every single person talked about in here or the preoccupation with biology and science of transgender individuals, but I think this is a great place to start for those who want to understand what is at stake, especially for trans youth.
Nicole is now a happy, healthy adult, and an actress in Hollywood, and I am so proud that she and her family fought for our rights in the state of Maine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Loved this book! It's best read with a box of tissues nearby as there are many times you will find yourself crying, or at least I did.
I am so happy for Nicole that she had and continues to have such a supportive family and friends that helped her through her transition. So many trans people don't have that. I saw a lot of myself in her especially the childhood of always wanting to wear pink and sparkly things and always playing the girl, I'm just so happy she womaned up and didn't wait until her twenties to transition like I did.
I am so happy for Nicole that she had and continues to have such a supportive family and friends that helped her through her transition. So many trans people don't have that. I saw a lot of myself in her especially the childhood of always wanting to wear pink and sparkly things and always playing the girl, I'm just so happy she womaned up and didn't wait until her twenties to transition like I did.
Really enjoyed this book. While Nicole's story was amazing to read about, I also really enjoyed the science that helped further explain the how and why.
Great book. Highly recommend.
Great book. Highly recommend.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Definitely interesting and valuable to help people understand transgender issues, but overall, I found the book tedious and the retelling of Nicole's transformation overly theatrical. I am not disregarding the situations this family faced, only that the author's word choice rubbed me the wrong way...
Great primer for those who are new to the topic and engaging for those already in the know. This is as much the story of a family's struggle as it is about Nicole's essential self. I would live to read more about this family.
Amazing story, and the book was very well written. The educational parts (a lot of which were new to me) were smoothly integrated with the story of the Maines family. As a parent the book takes the wind right out of you, and I hope I could do as well by my kids.