{if there were a writer’s letter olympics}

…this letter would win gold.

I just finished HAPPY FAMILIES and I was actually looking to see if you had a twitter before I posted something and found your contact page and just wanted to say… thank you. There are not enough books about the T in LGBTQ, and this story of a family being a FAMILY was such a wonderful one.

There are so many things I want to say, but instead, my brain is in flail mode over it. Just… waving my mental arms around screaming (in a good way). I had to bring the book with me to work because I couldn’t wait until I got home to finish it. And I just did finish it, and now promptly want to tell the world about it.

I loved that it isn’t easy, that it isn’t a happy ending, but it is hopeful. I loved that it felt real, that all of the characters felt real. I loved that it wasn’t about hate but was about confusion and love and even more confusion. I loved all of it.

I look forward to handing this book to my daughter when I get home (she’s 14, and we share the stack of YA books I pick up from the library). This is so touching and beautifully done without being preachy. It just IS.

[…] it doesn’t present the “one true view of how to be transgender” and acknowledges that there isn’t just one path for everyone. And the fact that faith isn’t evil; it’s both a rock and a fear at the same time, which is so realistic and true. The realism in the story is so well done.

Thank you for writing this and sharing it with the world.

~ D.E. Atwood ~

I received these words and pressed my hands to my heart, trying to hug myself, I guess, since the words are a hug. I am so grateful for what I get to do with my my words, and when they strike someone else’s heart, I am reminded: This is what I’m supposed to do.