"The story of a family in transition, this is a raw, honest, sometimes humorous account of author Brookes's journey as her young child grapples with gender identity and becomes her authentic self. Brookes has longed to become a mother for as long as she can remember, and she harbors a fierce determination to parent her children differently--better--than her own mentally ill mom parented her. To create a 'normal' family. And when she gives birth to twin boys, she is, admittedly, hugely relieved. There will be no need for her, a decidedly un-girly girl, to braid hair, buy dolls, or pick out dresses for her kids. But by the time her twins are eight, Brookes has realized two things: 1) her obstetrician's 'it's another boy' announcement was flat-out wrong, and 2) there is no such thing as a 'normal' family. Transister is one mother's unfolding of why that's a beautiful thing." --