Having met and heard Joy Ladin speak and followed her fight to stay employed after transitioning, I looked forward to reading about her and her journey and understanding more about the intersections of gender and religion in her life. Although Ladin is primarily known for her poetry, I did not expect the lyricism and poignant descriptions that took my breath away.
This was not a book to read on the subway; it had to be read at home, in a quiet place.
Ladin’s pain is real. Her struggles to become herself–her lifelong attempts at silencing an authentic self who stubbornly keeps insisting on resurfacing, the loss of her wife and breakup of her marriage, the difficulties with her children–underscore the multiple complexities of transitioning. But “[w]hen the siren song of real life – life as myself – began singing inside me, I couldn’t turn away, no matter how painful real life promised to be†(p.189). We are privileged to watch Ladin take her first steps as a woman, with all the awkwardness, humor, fear, happiness, and exhilaration that accompany learning to be one’s genuine self with the relief in finally recognizing oneself in the mirror.
Ladin’s Jewishness is just a part of who she is–she does not engage with the religion as such here but rather just lives it in the pages of her book as it shows her during moments in dialog with God, praying over her medication, and attending a queer Jewish women’s retreat.
The book will resonate with both transgender readers and those seeking more understanding about transgender people and the complexities of transition. Recommended for both public and academic collections.
Reviewer: Michael Waldman
Head of Collection Management, Baruch College, CUNY, New York, NY
