My Life in Transition: A Super Late Bloomer Collection

by Julia Kaye

Overview

My Life in Transition is a story that’s not often told about trans lives: what happens beyond the early days of transition. Both deeply personal and widely relatable, this collection illustrates six months of Julia's life as an out trans woman—about the beauty and pain of love and heartbreak, struggling to find support from bio family and the importance of chosen family, moments of dysphoria and misgendering, learning to lean on friends in times of need, and finding peace in the fact that life keeps moving forward.

After the nerve-wracking, anxiety-ridden early transition period has ended and the hormones have done their thing, this book shows how you can be trans and simply exist in society. You can be trans and have a successful future. You can be trans and have a normal life full of ups and downs. In our current political and social climate, this hopeful, accessible narrative about trans lives is both entertaining and vital.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524870126
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date:	12/14/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Julia Kaye is an award-winning artist and illustrator whose webcomic Up and Out has garnered hundreds of thousands of readers and wide critical praise. Her commitment to activism has led to collaborations with non-profit organizations such as The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline. Her work has appeared on Webtoon, GoComics, Buzzfeed, and the Disney animated show Big City Greens. Julia lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

01/25/2021

Kaye (Super Late Bloomer) continues her candid journal comics series with an intimate look at her life as a trans woman post–coming out. Having lived openly as herself for three years, Kaye has become more and more comfortable in her own skin, but that doesn’t mean her life has gotten simpler. Kaye attempts to navigate the rocky world of dating in the 21st century, bouncing between iffy experiences with men on hookup apps and turbulent monogamous relationships, while her experiences of gender dysphoria and sexual attraction subtly shift. The arc of the narrative hinges on a messy breakup with ex-girlfriend Liv and Kaye’s slow journey toward healing. Kaye bares her soul via blunt, confessional narration, and occasional flares of expressionism break up her spare, black-and-white cartooning, lending weight to those moments. “We’re just people with the same wants and needs as anyone else,” writes Kaye. By conveying simply that, this collection is a success, illuminating the reality of everyday trans life. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Author shows ‘long road’ of gender transition through comic strip” (ABC News Live Primetime)

“… this collection is a success, illuminating the reality of everyday trans life.” (Publishers Weekly)

From the Publisher

05/01/2021

Gr 9 Up—Kaye follows up her first graphic novel, Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition, with a new collection of comics documenting her day-to-day life three years after her gender transition. Kaye enjoys good times with friends and finds joy in being seen as the woman that she is. She still struggles with internalized transphobia and managing the gender dysphoria that sometimes creeps back in. Kaye, who identifies as pansexual, describes her sometimes conflicting feelings about dating. Readers will feel her anguish when accepting family members refuse to stand up for her against transphobic relatives. Nevertheless, she's made huge strides and feels the peace that comes with finally being the person she was always meant to be. The deft black-and-white cartoons are simple but expressive. Though for the most part illustrations are realistic, when addressing her feelings, Kaye uses powerful imagery to express her joy—a body being cracked open, with a new person emerging—or dysphoria: Kaye floating in space. Kaye is Jewish and most of the people in her world appear to be white. VERDICT In sharing a deeply personal journey, Kaye underscores that transitioning is "an ongoing, lifelong process of embracing change." Her story will resonate with comics fans, especially those who are transitioning or care about someone who is.—Carla Riemer, Berkeley, CA

School Library Journal