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*This book has been kindly gifted to me by NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers. As a result of loving the book I will be purchasing it from a Queer Bookshop as a means to show support for the trans community. Reading queer books only through ARCs is a step forward, but we as book readers need to continually show support in other means and that is often through donating to organisations that aid trans and non-binary people in need of help and support. Thank you.*
Transitions: Our Stories of Being Trans by Various Authors is a short collection of trans joy and non-binary joy experiences attempting to stray away from the over emphasised narrative of trans and non-binary trauma and the over medicalisation of the trans experience. Comprising of 8 short anthropologies, the authors express their everyday experiences and the small events that make them feel loved, happy and comfortable in their identities.
I was really excited to read this book as I don’t think there’s been many books I’ve read, either fiction or non-fiction, which purely homes in on trans and non-binary people, so to be able to read these 8 gems of some people’s experience was really refreshing. I loved the focus on trans and non-binary joy and how heart-warming the stories felt – just a pure expression of love and joy in the face of discrimination, lack of government support and funding and a rise in trans misinformation rhetoric.
The writing of these were all beautiful, which is definitely a bonus! Some of the authors, most notably Ezra Woodger, whose anecdote resonated with me, moved me with their gorgeous writing and eloquent expression of trans resilience.
The only drawback I found was how short it is, which I think is reflected in the fact that most of the stories seemed to be from a more trans masc non-binary perspective instead of being perhaps a little more diverse. However, these collections could likely be published every year with new authors, so I’d love to see this project expanded further.
Overall, this is a lovely little book to read, especially if you’re discovering your gender identity at the moment. I think its expected to talk about the hardships of being non-cis and non-heterosexual, but the beauty of these stories is they acknowledged their pain, trauma and negative experiences and still chose to focus on pure trans joy.
Places to buy the book that supports queer authors and bookshop owners!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5