Read This Book…

Krys Malcolm Belc and his partner Anna wanted to have children. When their son Sean, whom Anna carried, was just a few months old, Krys found out he was pregnant with their second child. This experience of being nonbinary while going through the medical system for pregnancy and childbirth clarified to Krys his own gender identity, as he felt like his experiences didn’t always fall under the umbrella of “motherhood.” In a series of probing essays, Krys deconstructs his experience with pregnancy and what it means for him, his family, and his identity.

This is a beautifully written and thought-provoking exploration of what it means to nonbinary and trans, and how the world isn’t always set up for those who don’t fall into the boxes society prescribes. It highlights many of the practical barriers to queer and trans parents, but it’s also a deeper look into Krys’s own coming of age and coming to be process, as he reckons with many facets of his identity and confronts his relationships with his parents, siblings, partner, himself, and ultimately, his children. Carrying his son gives him clarity to start taking testosterone, and the confidence to live his authentic self, but the journey isn’t always clear. I’ve not been so mesmerized by a memoir since I read In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, and if you’re looking for a read alike to that book, this is it—literary, nonlinear, but ultimately an absorbing look at queer life and identity, and the formation of a family.