Synopses & Reviews
When Cris Beam first moved to Los Angeles, she thought she might put in just a few hours volunteering at a school for transgender kids while she got settled. Instead she found herself drawn deeply into the pained and powerful group of transgirls she discovered.
In Transparent she introduces four of them Christina, Domineque, Foxxjazell, and Ariel and shows us their world, a dizzying mix of familiar teenage cliques and crushes with far less familiar challenges like how to morph your body on a few dollars a day. Funny, heartbreaking, defiant, and sometimes defeated, the girls form a singular community. But they struggle valiantly to resolve the gap between the way they feel inside and the way the world sees them a struggle we can all identify with.
Beam's careful reporting, sensitive writing, and intimate relationship with her characters place Transparent in the ranks of the best narrative nonfiction.
Review
"Beam knows how to tell a story. Her tone is evocative and warm without being cloying or judgmental. She delicately parses the story of her own troubled youth, not letting it become the center of attention. Her style grabs the reader at once." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"[C]ompelling reading that fills an important niche in gender studies." Booklist
Synopsis
A Los Angeles transgender school volunteer traces her work with four students whose otherwise typical teen experiences were uniquely shaped by their circumstances, in a personal account that describes their efforts to resolve identity challenges while making contributions to their community.
About the Author
Cris Beam is a journalist who has written for several national magazines as well as for public radio. She has an MFA in nonfiction from Columbia University and teaches creative writing at Columbia and the New School. She lives in New York.
Table of Contents
Contents
PART ONE
School
Eduardo/ Geri/ Christina
Mothers
Arriving
Body
Boyfriends PART TWO
Lockdown
Skidmarks
Violence
Change
Commencement
Authors Note
Endnotes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments