About this item

A mother's memoir of her transgender child's odyssey, and her journey outside the boundaries of the faith and culture that shaped her.From the age of two-and-a-half, Jacob, born "Em," adamantly told his family he was a boy. While his mother Mimi struggled to understand and come to terms with the fact that her child may be transgender, she experienced a sense of dj vu - the journey to uncover the source of her child's inner turmoil unearthed ghosts from Mimi's past and her own struggle to live an authentic life. Raised in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family, every aspect of Mimi's life was dictated by ancient rules and her role in life largely preordained from cradle to grave. As a young woman, Mimi wrestled with the demands of her faith and eventually made the painful decision to leave her faith and community and the strict gender roles it upheld.