06 Nov / Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard by Alex Bertie [in Booklist]
YouTube star Alex Bertie readily admits “that as far as trans people go, I’m very privileged. I’m a white educated male with family support, a roof over my head, and a job.” Being British also guaranteed access to a national health system that paid for his medical female-to-male transition.
Making both writer and narrator debuts (who else could voice his story so well?), Bertie shares his coming out with unflinching honesty, raw vulnerability, and affectingly gentle humor. Affable and earnest, Bertie’s crisp British English is a welcome invitation to listen in on 24 short, insightful chapters, including “Puberty & Self-Hate,” “Dealing with Bullies,” “Being Stealth at College,” “Sex & Intimacy,” and “Our Place in the World.” Unusual is the addition near title’s end of “A Message from My Mum,” in which Bertie’s mother intimately shares her POV.
Beyond his supportive circle of family and friends, while difficult challenges – mental, physical, social – are many, Bertie assures, “my story is also full of some delightful and pretty ridiculous memories… I’m now the happiest I’ve ever been.” Inspiring life(-saving) lessons for all.
Review: “Media,” Booklist Online, October 24, 2019
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2019