7/10

This was a memoir focusing on a trans woman's experience coming out, trying to make the US a more trans inclusive space and her experience losing her love to cancer. The first half of the book focuses mostly on her political aspirations and work to change the laws regarding trans rights in Delaware and then in the US Congress. This part of the book was a little dry for me as I'm not that into politics though I did get a much better sense of the lack of rights trans people have and what that means for the ability for them to live, work and love in the US. The second part of the book focuses on her falling in love with a trans man and his subsequent battles with cancer and eventual death. This part of the book was extremely emotional though I did have a bit of disconnect between the two parts of the book and what McBride was attempting to do with her memoir other than just telling her life story from 18-25 years old. I enjoyed this book but I wanted everything to connect with a focused topic for this memoir rather than just telling a story.

TW: transphobia, death of a loved one, cancer, transphobic comments