One day I'll grow up and be a beautiful woman : a mother's story / Abi Maxwell.
"A fiery, heartbreaking, riveting memoir that follows one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, unspooling a story of gender identity, poverty, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of America's culture wars. Abi Maxwell grew up in rural New Hampshire, one of eight children in a poor town abutting the wealthier lakeside village of Gilford. As a young couple, Maxwell and her husband planned not to have children, but when Maxwell became pregnant, she knew she wanted to raise her child near the mountains and lake of her youth. When her six-year-old asks to wear pink sneakers, asks to be a witch for Halloween, asks to wear a girls' dance costume, Abi worries about how their small community will react. But when that child changes her name, grows her hair long, and announces that she is girl, a firestorm descends on the family. Weaving together the story of her own childhood, marked by long afternoons skiing the mountains, a cottage on the lake, a proud gay brother, but also by hunger, neglect, and bullying that pushed her brother to the brink, Abi Maxwell contends with the rural America where she was raised and, years later, where she is now raising her child, as lawmakers push to erase the very existence of trans youths. Intimate and stirring, this book is essential reading for this moment in our history"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593535844 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 305 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2024.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Gender identity > United States. Mothers > United States > Biography. Parents of transgender children > United States > Biography. Transgender children > United States. |
| Genre: | Biographies. Autobiographies. Personal narratives. |
- Baker & Taylor
"A fiery, heartbreaking, riveting memoir that follows one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, unspooling a story of gender identity, poverty, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of America's culture wars. Abi Maxwell grew up in rural New Hampshire, one of eight children in a poor town abutting the wealthier lakeside village of Gilford. As a young couple, Maxwell and her husband planned not to have children, but when Maxwell became pregnant, she knew she wanted to raise her child near the mountains and lake of her youth. When her six-year-old asks to wear pink sneakers, asks to be a witch for Halloween, asks to wear a girls' dance costume, Abi worries about how their small community will react. But when that child changes her name, grows her hair long, and announces that she is girl, a firestorm descends on the family. Weaving together the story of her own childhood, marked by long afternoons skiing the mountains, a cottage on the lake, a proud gay brother, but also by hunger, neglect, and bullying that pushed her brother to the brink, Abi Maxwell contends with the rural America where she was raised and, years later, where she is now raising her child, as lawmakers push to erase the very existence of trans youths. Intimate and stirring, this book is essential reading for this moment in our history"-- - Baker & Taylor
Following one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, this heartbreaking, unputdownable memoir finds the author contending with the rural America where she was raised and, years later, where she is now raising her trans child who caught in the riptide of our nationâs culture wars. - Random House, Inc.
A fiery, heartbreaking memoir that follows one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, unspooling a riveting story of gender identity, class, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of Americaâs culture wars
Abi Maxwell grew up in rural New Hampshire, one of eight kids in a poor town abutting a wealthier lakeside village. Maxwell moved away, but once she married and became pregnant, she knew she wanted to raise her child near the mountains and lake of her youth. When her six-year-old, who was known to the world as a boy, asked to wear pink sneakers, asked to be a witch for Halloween, asked to wear a girlâs dance costume, Maxwell worried about how their small community would react. But when that child changed her name, grew her hair long, and announced that she is a girl, a firestorm descended upon her family.
Weaving together the story of her own youthâmarked by long afternoons skiing the mountains, a cottage on the lake, and a proud gay brother, but also by neglect and bullying that pushed her brother to the brinkâAbi Maxwell contends with the rural America where she was raised and, years later, where she is now raising her daughter, as lawmakers nationwide push to erase the very existence of trans youth. Intimate and stirring, One Day Iâll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman is essential reading for this moment in our history.