I'm always surprised when I read memoirs and they're so compulsively readable and engaging. I like that writing about one's own life gives the license to write a story without the coherent plot a novel requires. Though Boylan's story of her life from childhood through transition and into life as a woman definitely has an arc. One thing I disliked was the tendency to end chapters on odd notes, with the seeming impact of some profound metaphor meant to be read out of the events which transpired. For the most part though I appreciated the way Boylan's stream of consciousness navigated her story.