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A review by kaceychilvers
What It Feels Like for a Girl by Paris Lees
4.0
This is an amazing book - an honest exploration of what it was like for Paris Lees growing up as a trans girl in a place that didn't accept her.
I'm always hesitant about books that could be considered misery memoirs because I don't need reminding how terrible the world can be. And while Lees' life has been full of hardships, challenges and genuinely terrible moments, she never dwells on it in a self-indulgent way. She tells you how it is or how it was and as a result, her book feels more like having a chat with a friend than anything else.
Something rarely discussed is that the life of a minority individual means that your life gets hijacked from time to time. You are no longer an individual acting with individual interests, experiences and motivations, you are a representative forced to portray an entire community for the ulterior motives of others. Currently, trans people are being used by numerous groups to scaremonger voters. Trans people are being dehumanized to serve the selfish desires of people in power.
That is why it is so refreshing to read a book like this. Lees isn't speaking on behalf of trans women everywhere. She isn't the monster TERFs make trans women out to be. And she isn't a saint who has lived a flawless life so that she can be used as a poster child. She is a person. She is a woman who has lived a life of mistakes, setbacks, achievements, relatable and surreal moments and we need more books like this.
My one and only real complaint is the way it is written. Not the structure or style. Being a writer for many years, she knows what she is doing. It is more that she writes in a dialect and as someone who can barely read proper English, it was a struggle at times. It wasn't a deal breaker but dyslexics should maybe prepare themselves before reading. I'm sure a lot of people from the area will get a real kick out of it.
So overall, I'd recommend it to any and everyone.
I'm always hesitant about books that could be considered misery memoirs because I don't need reminding how terrible the world can be. And while Lees' life has been full of hardships, challenges and genuinely terrible moments, she never dwells on it in a self-indulgent way. She tells you how it is or how it was and as a result, her book feels more like having a chat with a friend than anything else.
Something rarely discussed is that the life of a minority individual means that your life gets hijacked from time to time. You are no longer an individual acting with individual interests, experiences and motivations, you are a representative forced to portray an entire community for the ulterior motives of others. Currently, trans people are being used by numerous groups to scaremonger voters. Trans people are being dehumanized to serve the selfish desires of people in power.
That is why it is so refreshing to read a book like this. Lees isn't speaking on behalf of trans women everywhere. She isn't the monster TERFs make trans women out to be. And she isn't a saint who has lived a flawless life so that she can be used as a poster child. She is a person. She is a woman who has lived a life of mistakes, setbacks, achievements, relatable and surreal moments and we need more books like this.
My one and only real complaint is the way it is written. Not the structure or style. Being a writer for many years, she knows what she is doing. It is more that she writes in a dialect and as someone who can barely read proper English, it was a struggle at times. It wasn't a deal breaker but dyslexics should maybe prepare themselves before reading. I'm sure a lot of people from the area will get a real kick out of it.
So overall, I'd recommend it to any and everyone.