The Me I Was Made to Be by Christie Penner Worden is a largely balanced compassionate guide for parents trying to understand and have conversations around an emotionally laden subject especially in the context (of Christianity). Released 10th Sept 2024 by Herald Press, it's 216 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

The author has a chatty, accessible, open, and *kind* manner of speaking. She honestly says in the introduction that she can't promise to ease the tension (since a significant portion of the audience for the book are likely parents (or people) who are struggling with gender identity). She does offer an honest, faith based discussion of the concepts involved and a heartfelt plea for compassion for others.

There's not much actual discussion about *what* to say to a child or loved one who is questioning their gender identity. The problem is that for most people, the discussion is shaped around a binary model (male/female) without any possible nuance and especially ignoring current scientific understanding around gender and sexual identity (intersex, SrY, androgen insensitivity, etc etc etc). The author is not a scientist (and doesn't pretend to be), and the science is *complex*.

At the end of the day, she makes a lot of good arguments for compassion, genuine compassion, openness, and love. And that's probably all that can be expected from a Christian Bible based theologically grounded discussion. It's annotated throughout and the chapter notes will provide readers with some further avenues to explore.

Three and a half stars, with the codicil that it's meandering and very much faith based.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I read this book with curiosity, wondering what the author had to offer on a topic that can cause intense emotion and reaction. I wondered if this book would help families in search of guidance, and how the book would coach people to act.

The author goes above and beyond to present the content in a conversational, friendly tone. The conversation shared homilies and pointed out that the “meat” of this matter would follow, but unfortunately I felt like the author was beating around the bush, much like someone nervous about broaching an uncomfortable topic.

Eventually the author meanders to the topic of talking with someone about identity, and makes really good points. The reader has to wade through a lot of words before finding those points. It was a frustrating read because of the meandering and wordiness. I think some people might give up on the text because of this.

My advice is that 15- 20% of the words should be cut. Whittle down the chatting and let those valuable points and comments shine. There is good advice here if someone can find it.

Wow!!!! This book was fantastic. Each church should gift this to parents. What a helpful resource for them to have. I was awestruck by how well this was done.