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A fiery, heartbreaking, riveting memoir that follows one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, unspooling a story of gender identity, poverty, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of America’s culture wars. Abi Maxwell grew up in rural New Hampshire, one of eight kids in a poor town abutting the wealthier lakeside village of Gilford. As a young couple, Maxwell and her husband planned not to have kids, but when Maxwell became pregnant, she knew she wanted to raise her child near the mountains and lake of her youth. When her six-year-old asks to wear pink sneakers, asks to be a witch for Halloween, asks to wear a girls’ dance costume, Abi worries about how their small community will react. But when that child changes her name, grows her hair long, and announces that she is girl, a firestorm descends on the family. Weaving together the story of her own youth, marked by long afternoons skiing the mountains, a cottage on the lake, a proud gay brother, but also by hunger, neglect, and bullying that pushed her brother to the brink, Abi Maxwell contends with the rural America where she was raised and, years later, where she is now raising her daughter, as lawmakers push to erase the very existence of trans youths. Intimate and stirring, this book is essential reading for this moment in our history.
About the author
ABI MAXWELL is the author of the novels Lake People and The Den. After graduating from the writing program at the University of Montana, she spent many years working in public libraries, and she now works as a high school librarian. She is a dedicated advocate for the rights of transgender youth in her state and frequently testifies in front of the legislature on their behalf.
Summary
A fiery, heartbreaking memoir that follows one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, unspooling a riveting story of gender identity, class, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of America’s culture wars
Abi Maxwell grew up in rural New Hampshire, one of eight kids in a poor town abutting a wealthier lakeside village. Maxwell moved away, but once she married and became pregnant, she knew she wanted to raise her child near the mountains and lake of her youth. When her six-year-old, who was known to the world as a boy, asked to wear pink sneakers, asked to be a witch for Halloween, asked to wear a girl’s dance costume, Maxwell worried about how their small community would react. But when that child changed her name, grew her hair long, and announced that she is a girl, a firestorm descended upon her family.
Weaving together the story of her own youth—marked by long afternoons skiing the mountains, a cottage on the lake, and a proud gay brother, but also by neglect and bullying that pushed her brother to the brink—Abi Maxwell contends with the rural America where she was raised and, years later, where she is now raising her daughter, as lawmakers nationwide push to erase the very existence of trans youth. Intimate and stirring, One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman is essential reading for this moment in our history.
