Sissy by Jacob Tobia

  I read this book for Pride month and let me just say, that it is the best book that I have read in a LONG time.  If I could have given it ten stars, I totally would have.  I would say that I loved every minute but that wouldn't be right, but this book is life changing.

It's real and it's honest.  I love that it doesn't place blame but just sees things in a real and honest way.   Jacob had a very challenging  time coming into  their own, and this book just spells it all out.  From their earliest memories of being told which toys they could and could not play with - being teased for being feminine - and repressed.... all through their teens years, experiences in Church and life in college and onward.  

I was surprised at how much a role the Church played in Jacob's life and I was very moved with how they portrayed both the good and the bad in that relationship.   It gave me a sense of hope, but also served as a reminder that we have a long way to go.

I cheered when Jacob ran the Brooklyn Bridge,  I wanted to hold their hand and sit with them during Christmas Eve mass.  I felt their pain at losing a beloved Grandmother. The letter to his parents at the end?  I balled like a baby. 

As a parent, you hope you're not THAT parent,  but none of us are given manuals on how to raise our children, how to respond.  All we can do is hope we don't fuck up too badly and when we do, that we can apologize and learn from our mistakes.  This book is a wonderful reminder that we all have ways we can grow. 

 This book just spoke to me on every single level and I can't recommend it highly enough.  Like Jacob, it's FABULOUS.