I used to book mentor a kid that came to my store. He was smart, but mentally and physically young. One day I learned he wanted to go by “James” not “Jamie” anymore. Why? You see, his neighbor “Bob” left one day and when he came back, she was “Jamie” and (hopefully) she was happy. Now, since “James” was a kid, it is expected that he wouldn’t understand this. After all, transgendered people were not in the mainstream as they would be even a few years later. People probably wouldn’t have judged his reaction, as he wouldn’t “know better.” However, when you’re an adult people expect a “utopian transition” from you and you’re wrong if it doesn’t happen that way.
However, it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes you need to figure out what it all means. You want to be the best person in the situation, but the rules seem to have changed. So how does one navigate things now? People are not sure how they feel and/or how to react. This is a change to a mindset that has been ingrained into us from birth (not to mention centuries). The binary of our ways of thinking feels as if it is being questioned; even we might feel we are being attacked. And this (and more) is what the mother in Transitions: A Mother’s Journey by Elodie Durand (translated by Evan McGorray) talks about. Seemingly out of the blue, Lucie (age 19) tells their parents, “I am male.” We follow the mother as she asks questions: What does gender mean? What brought this on? Did she (mom) do something? Is she (mom) a bigot? Was it because of “this”? What if they (child) change their mind? How can she be the parent her child needs? 
I was a quarter through when I wrote the above (with some editing as posting). How can I know if I will like it or not? Honestly, I don’t; but I know there are two main factors going on that make this a must read. First, it is a contemporary topic; and second, it is not told from the perspective of the person transitioning, but the parent (who is a university biologist). And that is where most of us will find ourselves in this conversation: as the person who has a loved one transitioning. At that point I felt confident that it wouldn’t do a 180 and go “bad” (mostly because there are comments saying the mom finds a place of acceptance, and I liked how the journey was going at that point). There is scientific information, a few footnotes, and commentary between the parents, as well as the interactions between the parent and child. There are some images that, while the art is an easy looking drawing with little detail and relies on the text to give some context, are a bit more mature (such as sexual organs); making it not for all readers.
A quick note on the illustrious, the cover does not really show you what you’ll find inside. They are drawings that are on the simpler looking side, not a lot of color except what is needed to highlight the points (the mother so far has been shown in a hot pink color). And as said above, they rely on the text. They are neither “right or wrong” but are “right or wrong” for the particular reader. And while I was not a huge fan of them, I appreciated what they accomplished in helping the reader work their way through the book.
This book has been out since 2023 and I have had it in my online reader list since January 2024. When I started reading at lunch, I expected something quick and easy. But this graphic novel is full of muchness. I’m not making light of the subject, but this has a lot going on and is far from easy. It was overwhelming in those first 50 pages I read. I am considering finding a physical copy as I am currently trying to read via an online reader and I don’t think this is a book that I can do justice to by reading it via a screen.
