I got an ARC of this book.

I spend a lot of my time reading about binary trans identities. That is the world that makes the most sense to me since I am a binary trans person. I lived in Berkeley for a while and absolutely hated it. I figured out it was because the trans space that was so anti-binary that it became a social death sentence to identify binary. I felt erased and hated. I wanted to read this book to start to put some of my own issues with the nonbinary community aside, since I didn't have any issues with nonbinary people or the movement until I lived in Berkeley. I wanted to feel like the trans community was home again, all of it. This book brought me back to the nonbinary community I was used to. One full of power, love, acceptance, and courage. One that acknowledges that being binary isn't sinful, but it just doesn't work for them. One full of questions, lots of thinking, and lots of experimentation. The sort of community that gives me hope for the trans community, that is will one day come together instead of being filled with in-fighting. 

The book covers really important topics ranging from being trans enough to what a transition looks like to feeling erased by the trans community. All of the feelings I have had throughout my transition being binary. The only difference being I had more support being binary that the nonbinary people in this collection did. I wish I could support them all. I wish I could have been part of the groups they joined trying to find a home. I would have been the first one to welcome them. No trans person should ever wrestle with the idea that they are or are not trans enough. They should never feel like they don't belong in a trans space. We should all support each other. I hope this book finds people who are questioning their gender and their expression. It opens so many doors into what nonbinary could look like and asks so many questions. It will be a great resource for people. 

The book really hit home for me and taught me so much about a world I only ever got glimpses of through friends and my own understanding of gender. It also affirmed something that has been in the back of my mind for years. It also made me feel more comfortable with my own body. I haven't had bottom surgery. This book made me feel less pressure to have  bottom surgery, to conform to the stereotype of a transition. I want bottom surgery, but it opened the door to really question why I want it. Do I want it because that is what I expect trans people to want? Do I want it because it is right for me? This book opens up so many ideas of what it means to be trans. The answer I got was easy: if you feel like you are trans, then you are trans. If you feel nonbinary, you do you. Do whatever sort of transition works for you. Don't be ashamed, don't be afraid, but if you are you are not alone. 

I know this review was all about my binary gender, but that is the only lens I have to understand the people who told their stories. Their stories are not mine, but they had similar themes as my world. I want to be as confident as the people telling their stories.

First person life stories, or slice-of-life stories, from nonbinary people. There was a wide range of experiences and of circumstances: complicating factors such as poverty and race not neglected. Of course, I found a few wise, a few very moving. With thirty contributions, and with the editorial eye to difference, you must find stories that resonate or teach.

One chapter jarred for me because it was a parent writing about their nonbinary child. Inevitably (should I be optimistic and write 'almost inevitably'?), somebody writing <i>about</i> a nonbinary person was quite another matter than nonbinary people giving their own testimony.

An excellent resource. Some pieces use more 'gender language' than others but the book is easy to digest as an introduction to the topic, and an appealing read.

I find reviewing Non-Fiction Anthologies so difficult, because how do you judge someone's truth? Are all the stories in here fascinating and must-reads? Honestly no, and some of them need a bit more editing, but overall I found the collection satisfying.

As a Transwoman who has always felt comfortable within the Binary, I did learn a lot from this and I do really respect those who are brave enough to live their truth. There are some really excellent stories in this, and every one of them is informative, unique and interesting. In reality, I give this book a 4.5 stars rating but due to the importance of it, I'm going to round up to 5 stars.

I think anyone looking to feel solidarity with those who Identify as Nonbinary, or are Nonbinary this is a highly recommended read. Some of the author featured are practically experts and excellent writers, overall a very successful anthology. It made me think a lot about how and why I am so comfortable within the gender binary, and at times made me ponder my own identity. All of which I really appreciated.

“Most of us were raised to believe that gender is a dichotomy: male and female. But underneath this foundational “fact” lies a complexity we’ve been truing to untangle.”

DISCLAIMER: The book is given by NetGalley, the author and the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All the review written is not related to any personal issues or connection.

TRIGGER: This is a non-fiction book which offers several discourses related to gender through the stories written by several contributors.

Full review: https://literatureisliving.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/non-binary-memoirs-of-gender-and-identity-by-micah-rajunov-and-scott-duane/

This just sadly wasn't for me. I just failed to connect with it and thus ended up skim reading most of this book. I didn't retain much but from I retained I could see why people would love this because it is an important read. It just didn't work for me.

This honest look into nonbinary identities was extremely relatable at times. I liked reading about the many different experiences that other nonbinary and genderqueer folks have been through. Books like this are so important as more people are identifying beyond the binary and it helps to know we are not alone.

One of my favorite things about this book was that it included voices from all across the spectrum of nonbinary people.

In my internet bubble, the most visible nonbinary people are like me: white and were assigned female at birth (AFAB). Many, but not all, are middle class or close to it. Me and many of the authors in this book agreed that this is the most visible portion of the non-binary spectrum, but it only represents a small portion of nonbinary people

Non-Binary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity not only included people like, but it also boosted the voices of those who were assigned male at birth (AMAB). It included people of color-- Black, Asian, and Latinx authors.

Because of the range of encompassed in this book, I think most nonbinary people will be able to see echoes of themselves and their experiences show up in this book.

However, I think it is something I hope is widely read by CIS people, by people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Each narrative is crafted in a way that will show CIS readers what it means to be non-binary.

When I started reading this book, I was almost certain it would be something I could assign for my students to read. However, like most collections of essays, there is too much on the same topic to read in one semester. No matter how good the writing is, a whole book of essays on the same topic always seems to result in my students losing interest before we get to the end, and if I were to assign the book and only read a portion of the essays, they would complain about having spent money on a book we only used part of. The later might not be an issue if I could get them to see the value of the book, so using it isn’t fully out of the equation yet.

Every single story in this collection approaches a different side of being nonbinary, each with their own understanding and history with the term itself and gender at large. Each story has its criticisms of society and the strict binarism that it enforces on people, while many also offer a very personal insight into their own journey.

The collection is actually representative of a wide range of people identifying as nonbinary; it addresses race, transmisogyny and the value placed on being passing (and ultimately still adhering to the binary) and the many issues with the value placed on masculine presentations of androgyny in the nonbinary community.
I would suggest this book to people struggling with their identity, absolutely, but also to the allies who may feel disillusioned by the various narratives of nonbinary people, most of which focus on a very specific 'type' of nonbinary expression.

I hope this book gets read widely.

While cisgender myself, I am familiar with gender identity, with the idea of gender as a spectrum and people falling at different places, or multiple places, along that spectrum. I am aware that gender is separate from sexuality and also separate from visible gender characteristics and sexual organs, both of which are also nonbinary in their categorization. I know the basics. However, this book and it's long list of memoir short stories really brought home the diversity of people's experiences and feelings within the world of nonbinary gender. Instead of being repetitive, each story was unique and gave greater insight into the variety of experiences that exist.

As I was reading, I was thinking about LGBTQ literature from 20 years ago, and how 90% of the literature (I may be exaggerating as I'm making up this statistic on the spot) was made up of coming out stories, or first-time-falling-in-love-and-struggle-ensues stories, or a combination of both. Now, we are privileged to be in a world where LGBTQ+ characters just exist in stories (and movies, and TV shows) and it's mostly not even a thing, and definitely not THE defining aspect of their personality. Sometimes there are gay characters where being gay isn't even a part of the plotline! Anyway, my point is that while I think this book is needed and necessary, and that nonbinary identities up to this point have been fairly invisible/erased in popular culture, I look forward to the time in the future when nonbinary characters show up in the media and it's not a thing, they're just another character that happens to be nonbinary. I look forward to a time when representation is so great that books that just outline people's nonbinary identity seem unnecessary.

5* An amazing, moving, humbling and thought-inspiring read.

I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this, because I saw the title and grabbed an opportunity for some broadening of my mind, some education. I certainly got an education, just not the formal one that one might expect from a book by a university press. I think I got something unique and priceless.

The intro to the book was confusing, because I didn't quite clock immediately that the guys named on the cover aren't the authors - they're simply the editors of various people's stories. And, if I am not mistaken, part of the intro was done by Riki Wilchins, whose tone and words I don't love, having read a couple of her works and having reviewed one of them, only to find that she'd taken exception to my words (she's since deleted her comments). I was almost debating not reading on when I saw RW's connection, but I decided to continue, and I am so glad that I did.

The book consists of a series of short essays/pieces written by people who are nonbinary. They seemed to range from different ages, races, backgrounds, family settings and I think I enjoyed every single one bar one where it was told as if the author was speaking about themselves in the third person - sorry that I can't recall the name or title.

To hear their tales, to learn of their physical and mental journeys, their struggles, their courage and determination was humbling and made me realise how much het-me takes for granted.

At the end of the book the editors give us the names of the authors in a kind of glossary, introducing them a tad more, and making me appreciate what I've read even more. It's rare that a book about gender is so varied, and this is one of the most uplifting that I've read.

ARC courtesy of Columbia University Press and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Nonbinary was both a touching and informative read. Through the stories presented, it's clear to see that a nonbinary identity can mean different things to different people, and that all presentations as such are equally valid. With some within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum still relatively invisible, I believe this is an important work to highlight the experiences of those still marginalised within the community, and I applaud those who came forward with their stories for their courage and willingness to share their experiences and feelings with the world at large. I hope this work will aid understanding and acceptance of those who identify as nonbinary. I certainly found it a compelling and inspiring read.