When I Walked Into the Courtroom in Full Uniform, My Father Laughed. My Mother Sighed. Then the Judge Looked Up, His Voice Breaking: “Dear God… It’s Really Her.” The Room Went Silent. They Had No Idea Who I Had Become.

and what she said through the crying was not what I had expected. She said she did not understand when I had become this person. She said it as though becoming this person were something that had happened to her, a thing she had not consented to, a development in my life that was being done at her expense.

I set the phone down and thought about that continue reading …