Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

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“Why would God make you something that would make your own family hate you? Why would God want me to hate my own blood?... God made you this way. God idn’t tell me to hate you, my church did. Please forgive me.”

Richardson writes the words of many of his relatives and friends throughout this memoir, but perhaps the most poignant come from his grandmother, quoted above. The journey the author takes us on through his road of slow revealing and self-discovery is one step at a time. From page one, the author makes it clear that his transition as a transgender man wasn’t a rash, sudden decision, but a necessary, considered one, a realization that was the result of a knowledge as old as his awareness: “I am a man. But I am no ordinary man.”

The book itself is heavy on dialogue, and seems to cover a wide range of events that mattered greatly in the author’s identity formation, but which probably weren’t given the space in the book they deserved (this is really my only complaint about the book). It’s hard to read about a person’s death in one paragraph, only to have moved on to another death in the next. Life does work that way sometimes, though.

I think those who are Christian (or Christian-adjacent) will enjoy this book. Others may find the religious language a bit heavy-handed and forced. However, I look forward to more writing from this author!