I hope everyone had a good Pride Month. I didn’t get as much reading done as I would have liked due to school. But I finished at least a couple LGBTQ books and will be reviewing them in the next week or so. One of the books I read was particularly interesting.
It was My Journey to Her by Yuna Hirasawa. This book focused on one woman’s journey to present as her authentic gender. The manga was part autobiography, part informative guide when it came to the process of changing one’s gender.
Synopsis
My Journey to Her focuses on Hirasawa’s journey to present as their auhetic gender. She details the process of going through gender reassignment in Japan and getting bottom surgery in Thailand.
The portion of her work that deals with surgery is very interesting. I already knew that Thailand was popular for helping trans people when it came to social issues as well as medically. But it was particularly cool to see the way that they provided low cost care for people in their own region.
Hirasawa dealt with many ups and downs leading up to and after her surgery such as the painfulness of dealing with dilation. The process in which trans women must stretch their new gentalia so it won’t close up. As well as an incident with her having a blood clot that sounded super scary.
The book also deals with the way living as her authentic gender changed her relationships with other people and her siblings. She talks about some of the indignities of having to get her paperwork finalized when she came back to Japan and how the whole process made her more hopeful about her life and the future.
Review
I like to read stories of queer and trans people. But I worry that my reading leans a little western country focused. So My Journey to Her was a nice look into how things go in Japan for some transwomen at least.
I found the portions about Hirasawa’s stay in the hospital particularly interesting. Mostly because it seems so counterintuitive to how things go in the US for trans people dealing with healthcare.
All of the medical staff seemed super nice and helpful even though the protagnist and the staff didn’t speak the same language. I’ve never dealt with healthcare outside the US but this seemed especially nice.
Hirasawa was a great narrator and I love the art that went with this piece. I’d definitely buy this when it comes out. I’d give this book five stars for the narrative voice and the explanation of some terms and experiences that the average reader might not understand.
As for similar books one should look to At Thirity I Realized I Had no Gender by Shou Arai. Remember it is important to read LGBTQ literature all year long and that while Pride month is a great time to support LGBTQ authors. Those authors need support all year long.
What did you read for Pride Month? Any LGBTQ picks? Share your reads in the comments
Happy Reading
Solara.
Rose's Book Garden 