A review by mollybonovskyanderson
The Natural Mother of the Child: A Memoir of Nonbinary Parenthood by Krys Malcolm Belc

3.0

Krys Belc’s experience as a parent is like none other I’ve encountered in print. I was drawn to this book as I recognized the author as former faculty at the university I work for. I realize now that he and I both had sons the same age at the same time, but our experiences were so vastly different, and as I was handing this calm, quiet individual his library books, he was grappling with issues I could have never imagined. This is candidly and courageously written, and the addition of photos, documents, and the braiding in of definitions and historical events added depth to the narrative. My only qualm is that the timeline bounced around a bit, and I often found myself wondering who he was speaking/writing to or about, and in what time frame, and could have used more details to find my bearings. Still, a compelling documentation of a topic that is both personal and specific to the individual, and important and timely within the bigger picture of gender, identity, and parenthood.