Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews

I't hard to believe someone as young as Andrews (a high school graduate in 2014) can write so calmly and positively about the challenges he faced growing up transgender in a traditionally gendered world.  Yet he does.  He demonstrates an amazing capacity to appreciate his own gifts and hold on to his own identity even in the face of a mother who wanted her daughter to be a beauty queen and a school that saw non-normative sexuality as evil.  What I found so compelling was Arin's ability to deal frankly and without bitterness with the most painful situations growing up, from having to be a pink bunny for Halloween,  to always having to wear hair bows to please a demanding mother, to being denied contact with best friend Darien, who is lesbian.  Despite these attempts to treat Emerald as a girl, consistent with his body parts, Andrews came to realize fairly early on that  family was one of the greatest resources for support and acceptance.  By junior year in  high school, Arin was ready to start the process of gender reassignment.  The transformation from a little girl to a teenage boy is documented by a photograph at the beginning of each chapter.  The pictures help to chronicle the changes from a troubled young girl to a self-confident young man.  There were definitely bumps in the road, and Andrews emphasizes that this process is different for everyone.  He recognizes that many people in his situation are estranged from their families and suffer far greater rejection.  Andrews has written a book to help everyone better understand young people seeking to understand their gender while in the midst of the hormonal ups and downs of their teenage years.