Best Book of the Year So Far: Jarek Steele

10 year anniversary ed.
with new afterword

Jarek Steele co-owns Left Bank Books and is married to our previous poster Kris Kleindienst. We pestered and annoyed Jarek until he agreed to share his favorite book of the year (so far), and frankly we were a little disappointed the guy caved. Good thing, though, because he picked a fantastic book, probably the most interesting so far. 

Jennifer's latest

 I would like to give a shout out to an earlier book by Boylan called She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders.  Why we haven’t written about this book is further proof we stink because she’s a really wonderful writer.

Here we go, Jarek’s favorite book of the year so far:

Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan.

Jennifer Finney Boylan

This book spoke to me on a lot of levels, both because I'm a parent and because I'm transgender, but the story is more complicated than that, just as all humans are more complicated than the sum of our parts. 

When her two children were young, Boylan came out as transgender.  She transitioned from a man to a woman and from a father to a mother.  Though my journey was the opposite of hers, and might be even more foreign to some readers, it worth the read.  You will not come away from this story without at least a few of your notions challenged.

Kris and Jarek, owners of
Left Bank Books
St. Louis, MO