Mia Violet

The title message "Yes, you are trans enough" mainly speaks to the author's experience of being told as a teenager by her mother that she was mistaken about being transgender. But it also applies to anyone who is struggling with feeling that they might be transgender, but don't relate to the predominant narratives about being trapped in the wrong body or having "always known," or someone who may be nonbinary or not want any medical interventions. I also really appreciated the author's assertion that there are benefits to transitioning later in life and that being cis-passing is not necessarily the most important thing.

In the second half of the book, the author Mia Violet goes granular into the early stages of her transition. You get to hear about outfits she chose, makeup she wore, how she felt, what she was afraid of. I really loved this. It was like having a friend who is also going through a transition and getting to share all the details. These chapters sparked a lot of thoughts and reflections about my own life. It was really heartbreaking to hear about the waiting times at England's Gender Identity Clinics (spoiler: it takes years) and the reaction of Mia Violet's parents when she came out.

I must tell you that if you really like dialogue and discrete scenes, this book has very little of those things. I was having a hard time with the initial chapters that dealt with Mia Violet's childhood and teenage years, and that could have been why. Or, it could have been because those years were painful to write about and that feeling bled through, or because it was hard for me to relate to a millennial childhood. Or it could have been a million different reasons. (Why do I even bother writing book reviews? I never know what's going on.) But anyway, once I got past the beginning, I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend it. I would love to read more from this author.… (mere)