Identity

In this memoir, Mock explores the various facets of her identity, demonstrating the struggle to reconcile differing visions of herself and the liberation that comes with accepting a layered identity.

Born a boy named Charles with an inner conviction that she was, in fact, a girl, Mock experiences a dissonance between her perception of herself and who she is told by others to be. As she experiments with her gender expression and gradually gains the courage to act the way she feels inside, she is met with hostility. It is a long road for Mock to transition into the woman she is today, and social transition, hormonal treatment, and genital reconfiguration surgery are a few of the pieces of the puzzle that she discusses in this memoir. At 13 years old, she reveals herself to her mother and siblings as Janet, not Charles; in high school, she wears dresses...