Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Random House Trade Paperbacks (2016), Edition: Reprint, 320 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. LGBTQIA+ (Nonfiction.) Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? The inspiring true story of transgender actor and activist Nicole Maines, whose identical twin brother, Jonas, and ordinary American family join her on an extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all. Nicole appears as TV??s first transgender superhero on CW??s Supergirl When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But by the time Jonas and Wyatt were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt??s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept Wyatt??s transition to Nicole, and to undergo a wrenching transformation of their own, the effects of which would reverberate through their entire community. Pulitzer Prize??winning journalist Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this story and tells it with unflinching honesty, intimacy, and empathy. In her hands, Becoming Nicole is more than an account of a courageous girl and her extraordinary family. It??s a powerful portrait of a slowly but surely changing nation, and one that will inspire all of us to see the world with a little more humanity and understanding. Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by People ? One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review and Men??s Journal ? A Stonewall Honor Book in Nonfiction ? Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction ??Fascinating and enlightening.???Cheryl Strayed ??If you aren??t moved by Becoming Nicole, I??d suggest there??s a lump of dark matter where your heart should be.???The New York Times ??Exceptional . . . ??Stories move the walls that need to be moved,?? Nicole told her father last year. In telling Nicole??s story and those of her brother and parents luminously, and with great compassion and intelligence, that is exactly what Amy Ellis Nutt has done here.???The Washington Post ??A profoundly moving true story about one remarkable family??s evolution.???People ??Becoming Nicole is a miracle. It??s the story of a family struggling with??and embracing??a transgender child. But more than that, it??s about accepting one another, and ourselves, in all our messy, contradictory glory.???Jennifer… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member slsmith101
This is a fascinating book about a child who like her identical twin brother, Jonas, was born a boy but felt in her heart that she was a girl. Although Jonas always knew he had a twin sister, it took some time for especially the father to come to that realization. The book describes what growing up
Since I've recently become interested in genetics, I was curious about how identical twins could have different gender identities and was especially intrigued with the chapter on brain science. The author explains that while sexual anatomy is determined by hormones at about six weeks, gender identity is "a function of the interplay between the sex hormones and the developing brain and because it is a process that takes place over time, in utero, it can be influenced by any number of environmental effects". She goes on to explain the various processes that can effect gender identity and that gender is not binary. All human brains are comprised of varying degrees of both male and female features.
While the book did end on a happy note with Nicole on her way to becoming a young woman, I would love to know how she is coping now and into the future. I hope that someday she will write her own book.
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was like for the twins and how this ordinary family struggled to keep their life as normal as possible. This was made more difficult because a few narrow minded people didn't think Nicole deserved to be who she was. Since I've recently become interested in genetics, I was curious about how identical twins could have different gender identities and was especially intrigued with the chapter on brain science. The author explains that while sexual anatomy is determined by hormones at about six weeks, gender identity is "a function of the interplay between the sex hormones and the developing brain and because it is a process that takes place over time, in utero, it can be influenced by any number of environmental effects". She goes on to explain the various processes that can effect gender identity and that gender is not binary. All human brains are comprised of varying degrees of both male and female features.
While the book did end on a happy note with Nicole on her way to becoming a young woman, I would love to know how she is coping now and into the future. I hope that someday she will write her own book.
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LibraryThing member THCForPain
Originally posted @ readaholiczone.blogspot.com
I loved this book. It is very enlightening and would be so helpful to the people that are full of hatred toward transgender people to help them realize how fluid gender is. Being Transgender as the book explains so well has nothing to do with a
"But the lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height...The lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the lord looks at the heart"
~1 Samuel 16:7 (from the book)
I loved this book. It is very enlightening and would be so helpful to the people that are full of hatred toward transgender people to help them realize how fluid gender is. Being Transgender as the book explains so well has nothing to do with a
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person's sexuality. There are actual medical reasons for a person that is transgender to be that way. It is written in the voice of the father but by someone outside the family so it does not have as much of an intimate feel as it should. The sacrifices this family had to endure were monumental to make Nicole be whole and happy. It is worth the read for EVERYONE! "But the lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height...The lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the lord looks at the heart"
~1 Samuel 16:7 (from the book)
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LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
The e-book I read was badly formatted at the beginning of every chapter but one.
The writing itself was excellent. The narrator moved from person to person to try to show how everything affected all the members of the family.
The writing itself was excellent. The narrator moved from person to person to try to show how everything affected all the members of the family.
LibraryThing member bblum
I didn't think I would find this book so interesting or readable. It is not a flashy account of coming out but shares the pain of the family especially the father in coming to terms that his adopted son should signs of being female even as a toddler. Her twin brother always understood that Wyatt
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was really his sister. The mother is the strong parent advocating for the rights of her son to be female as she slowly does the research and recognizes the damage to her son if he is forced to conform. Intersperse with the family narrative is the scientific discussion of what causes a person to be transgender and how it is not really that uncommon. Also, the reader in introduced to the early debate that began in 2011 Maine about restroom use by trans and intra-sexuals which has cause much furor in 2016. I wish the Maines' family lots of good fortune now that Nicole has had her re-assignment surgery that concluded the book when she was 18 years old. Show Less
LibraryThing member indygo88
Jonas and Wyatt Maines, adopted at birth, were identical twin boys. Despite being identical, Wyatt identified as a girl at an early age and through a gradual, soul-searching process, "became" Nicole.
The word "transgender" can be scary for some folks, and I think a lot of that revolves around
This should be a good discussion book for book club. The only thing that would've made this story better was a more personal approach. The format of the book was fairly objective -- written from an outsider's view. Both Nicole and her brother Jonas appear to be very intellectual and well-spoken young people and you can easily find clips of them online. Had this book not already been written, It would be interesting to one day read this same story from their point of view.
The word "transgender" can be scary for some folks, and I think a lot of that revolves around
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ignorance. I, myself, am not particularly knowledgeable on the topic. For some, it is controversial. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, I'd recommend this book, as it's an eye-opening story of a true-to-life family and how each family member came to terms with Nicole's transformation. Not only does the book delve into family dynamics, it also explores the challenges faced with school and community. During this process, Nicole became somewhat of a guinea pig and then spokesperson and activist in her home state of Maine, and has since opened up the door for discussion of a topic that has previously been largely considered a psychiatric "problem". This should be a good discussion book for book club. The only thing that would've made this story better was a more personal approach. The format of the book was fairly objective -- written from an outsider's view. Both Nicole and her brother Jonas appear to be very intellectual and well-spoken young people and you can easily find clips of them online. Had this book not already been written, It would be interesting to one day read this same story from their point of view.
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LibraryThing member voracious
This is the true story of Jonas and Wyatt Maines, identical twin boys raised in a typical family in a conservative small town. From the beginning, the boys exhibited different interests. While Jonas enjoyed boy toys and sports, Wyatt preferred playing with girl toys and dressing up as a girl.
While this book is an excellent primer on the science and politics of transgender individuals, it is generally focused on the details of the events surrounding the legal case and not as much on Nicole. The writing style was distant and basic and it seemed written at a 6th grade level. While it was a great book for our book club to discuss, I would have preferred an autobiography written by Nicole rather than a 3rd person account by a journalist who interviewed the family after the fact. Our book club discussion was enriched by the numerous online clips about Nicole and her family, which are readily available on Youtube. Overall, a great primer for individuals struggling to understand transgender individuals but not a particularly insightful glimpse into what it feels like to be transgender in American society.
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Wyatt's belief that she was a girl on the inside was pervasive and insistent and the Maines struggled to find guidance in how to handle Wyatt and deal with her need to be a girl. Eventually, Wyatt's transgender needs began to interfere at school when an ex-military grandfather discovered that his grandson was going to school with a boy who used the girl's restroom. The Maines' legal case against the school, which failed to protect Wyatt (Nicole's) safety in the school, lead to legal battles that went all the way to the Maine Supreme Court, opening up a national discussion on trangender rights and protections.While this book is an excellent primer on the science and politics of transgender individuals, it is generally focused on the details of the events surrounding the legal case and not as much on Nicole. The writing style was distant and basic and it seemed written at a 6th grade level. While it was a great book for our book club to discuss, I would have preferred an autobiography written by Nicole rather than a 3rd person account by a journalist who interviewed the family after the fact. Our book club discussion was enriched by the numerous online clips about Nicole and her family, which are readily available on Youtube. Overall, a great primer for individuals struggling to understand transgender individuals but not a particularly insightful glimpse into what it feels like to be transgender in American society.
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
An interesting story. But being somewhat of a memoir addict, the journalistic omniscient narrator style put me off, as did the dry chapters on background information. As another reviewer said, I wish the story could have been told by a member of the family, perhaps in collaboration with Nutt.
LibraryThing member ASKelmore
I picked this book for my office's Equity and Social Justice book club this month; my husband got it for Christmas and read it in about a day. Given the sh*t shows we've seen in a few state legislatures this year, it's extremely relevant.
This book artfully tells the story of how Wyatt's family
From a supportive elementary school to an non-supportive middle school, through a move where they kept Nicole's history a secret, to a lawsuit about appropriate accommodation. Through Kelly doing most of the heavy lifting of educating community members while Wayne tried to come to terms with the reality that he had a son and a daughter, not two sons, the family pushed on, finding that they at times had to fight just for Nicole to have the same basic access to things that all students have. Like a toilet.
Bathroom access is a very serious issue for transgender individuals. We're seeing this bullshit in places like North Carolina, where they are couching their bigotry and hatred in the 'protection of women.' Those legislators should all have to read this book, which explains in really great detail how gender identity, sexual orientation, and genitals are all different things. Just because most of us find our gender matches the one assigned us at birth doesn't mean that's always the case, or that there is anything wrong with those where that isn't the case. We all just REALLY need to stop being so concerned with what is in peoples' pants.
This book artfully tells the story of how Wyatt's family
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supported him on his journey to become Nicole, a transgender girl. Wyatt and Jonas were identical twins assigned the gender male at birth, adopted as babies by Kelly and Wayne Maines. From early on, Wyatt identified with more stereotypically feminine things: he played with dolls and liked the color pink. Both kids had great imaginations and liked to tell stories; when Wyatt would dress up, he would choose to wear things like tutus and sparkles. It was clear before Wyatt even entered preschool that he was gender non-conforming.From a supportive elementary school to an non-supportive middle school, through a move where they kept Nicole's history a secret, to a lawsuit about appropriate accommodation. Through Kelly doing most of the heavy lifting of educating community members while Wayne tried to come to terms with the reality that he had a son and a daughter, not two sons, the family pushed on, finding that they at times had to fight just for Nicole to have the same basic access to things that all students have. Like a toilet.
Bathroom access is a very serious issue for transgender individuals. We're seeing this bullshit in places like North Carolina, where they are couching their bigotry and hatred in the 'protection of women.' Those legislators should all have to read this book, which explains in really great detail how gender identity, sexual orientation, and genitals are all different things. Just because most of us find our gender matches the one assigned us at birth doesn't mean that's always the case, or that there is anything wrong with those where that isn't the case. We all just REALLY need to stop being so concerned with what is in peoples' pants.
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LibraryThing member sprainedbrain
Excellent book. Nonfiction is not my favorite, and that's why I have put this one off for so long, but this book was good. Straightforward, well-written story of a family and he way they support each other through a challenging situation. Nicole was born a boy, but knew from age 2 that she was a
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girl. The writing is journalistic, but still managed to evoke all of the feels. I absolutely loved the daddy-daughter dance! Show Less
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2016)
Stonewall Book Award (Honor Book — Non-Fiction — 2016)
Books for a Better Life Award (Winner — 2015)
Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award (Finalist — Non-Fiction — 2015)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2015)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
320 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
0812995430 / 9780812995435