TRANSISTER

Brookes describes mothering young twins, one cis, one trans, in this debut memoir.

The author, a television journalist-turned-filmmaker, author, and activist, was thrilled when she learned she was pregnant with twin boys. Her complicated relationship with her own mentally ill mother had convinced her that girls would be way more trouble. Boys would be easy—or so she thought. Their individual personalities were apparent right from the beginning: “Jacob seemed soft and chill,” remembers Brookes. “Gideon looked like he was ready to battle the world. In retrospect, he probably was.” When, at the age of 8, Gideon informed Brookes and her husband, Mike, that he thought he might be “transister,” the author wasn’t surprised. Gideon had been gender non-conforming his entire life, playing with Barbies and requesting spa-themed birthday parties. Even before this confession, Brookes had attended meetings of a support group for the parents of LGBTQ children. She was fully prepared to be the best mother she could be for her daughter, who soon chose the name Gabriella, and resolved to ensure that she had as healthy and happy a childhood as possible. As the family moved into uncharted territory, however, growing pains proved unavoidable—particularly when it became apparent that the family member least willing to accept Gabriella’s gender was her twin brother, Jacob. Brookes is a skilled storyteller, fleshing out her family’s dynamic with the detailed prose of a novelist. Here the twins draw self-portraits on their bedroom wall: “Whereas Jacob had added a football to his portrait, Gideon had transformed his body entirely. Gone were his legs, and in their place was a huge green mermaid tail, with elaborate fins drawn in. Toward the top of the portrait, he had added a wavy mane of blond hair that offset his bright blue eyes.” There’s something universal in the author’s tireless attempts to do things right: she handles Gabriella’s coming out with the same maternal determination exhibited during earlier attempts to diagnose the children’s learning disorders and get them into the best day school. People from families of all stripes are bound to see something of themselves in this tale.

A big-hearted account of one family’s trans story.