Where do I sign up to start the McBride 2024 campaign? In a book filled with the stark realities of losing her husband two years into their relationship to terminal cancer and Trump’s 2016 victory on the back of hate and prejudice, this book filled me with the same hope as first hearing Barack Obama campaign. (I also had not realized how close she is to the Biden family, and my optimism for queer rights over the next four years went up considerably.)

This would serve as a great introduction to what it means to be trans and contemporary trans issues, but as someone aware of what was covered here, the narrative never felt bogged down, and McBride did an excellent job of weaving in statistics and pointing out her own relative privileges throughout her personal story. I also enjoyed the introduction (and helpful explanations!) of how exactly activism pushing for specific legislation at the state and federal level works. Despite being upset at how...political it all is, it made me feel more empowered that I can affect change.

Finally, I spent a solid two hours of the audiobook in perpetual tears from when Andy is diagnosed with cancer to his death, yet the writing was never saccharine - to me this is the hallmark of an excellent author.