Nonfiction memoir about a mother raising her autistic, transgender daughter and the New Hampshire town that puts their family through hell. It’s harrowing and heartbreaking, a survival guide (barely? hopefully?) about weathering the eye of the current political storm.a I’m always looking for books I can recommend to well-meaning people who want to see past the transphobic headlines, and this one goes on the list. (Well-meaning people, as opposed to those who want to remain comfortably safe in their bigotry. Indeed, one of the most frustrating, infuriating parts of Maxwell’s story are those who just want to seem nice at all costs, so they can feel like good people, regardless of the consequences of either their hateful actions or their silence.)
Trans rights are human rights, and to learn more or take action, I can personally vouch that The Campaign for Southern Equality is doing good work here in the south. On a national or global level, try Advocates for Trans Equality or TGEU.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.