Pubs, stories, and shows, oh my!

Other places to find me

Readers!

I’m excited and pleased to share some amazing goings-on in my writing life.

One: I just finished another semester of my master’s program in writing! Five classes down, five to go.

Two: Elsewhere on Substack, Another Jane Pratt Thing has published my essay on my complicated relationship of having loved Harry Potter but despising JK Rowling and her transphobia.

Here I was, a fan. A man who menstruated and fumbled with tampons in the men’s bathroom. Meanwhile, JK insisted that menstruation and woman have the same definition. As I attended my first Pride as an out, queer, trans man, Rowling flashed in the news again for following “self-professed transphobe[s]” online…

Instead of using her power, energy, money, and massive platform to diminish inequities, like Pedro Pascal does, she guards her place as king of the hill, polices her self-defined boundaries of Woman. (Since the entire series failed the Bechdel test, I’m not keen on allowing her definition of “woman.”) Instead of reaching down to lift people up, she kicks them down further for also wanting equity, dignity, and equal treatment.

Three: I have two live storytelling events in May in the DC area. If you’re in the area and want details, please DM me.

• Story One is a Mother’s Day event. I tell a story about my motherhood and changing relationship with my son.

I’m so grateful that I lived as a woman for 40 years before transitioning to live as a man. I am proud to be a man who has given birth and breastfed. Those things did not make me feel gender dysphoria; those were the only times before transition when I felt connected to my body. That is true, and it is true that removing my breasts and taking testosterone were lifesaving for me.

• Story Two is a Pride event. I tell a story about coming to terms with my transness and what it means for my hetero marriage.

How can he throw away 20 years of marriage? I’d been with him since I was 18. We raised a kid, left the Mormon church, and moved to East Africa together. Isn’t love greater than body parts?

Four: I have another memoir essay being published in late May; stay tuned!

• This story is about dealing with my ex’s baggage—figurative and literal. Unlike the others, I’ve not posted any version of this story here.

As the cardboard boxes slid-thumped onto the baggage claim carousel, I noticed Josh straighten his back, then look at me. My shoulders tensed, my right leg jiggled, and my fists clenched. I shoved them in my pockets, then met Josh’s eyes. I know. I stepped forward to retrieve one box; he grabbed the other. Now was not the time to revive the squabble.

Five: Open Secrets gathering. If you know, you know.

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