Book Review - Straight Expectations: The Story of a Family in Transition

Straight Expectations: The Story of a Family in Transition by Peggy Cryden, LMFT
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Picked this up from Netgalley and it's pretty much what you'd expect. The author is the mother of two LGBTQIA+ children, and works as a psychotherapist as well, which gives the book an analytical, rather than preachy style. It's good to see people talk about their 'unconventional' family dynamics, especially regarding the flexible spectrum of gender and sexuality. It's the 21st Century, we need to be more open and aware about each individual's differences.

While the book is supposed to be about her transitioning family, the first half of the book is about the author's life. It's a fascinating life in itself, worthy of a carefully edited memoir if she wanted to go down that road, but didn't quite fit with the premise of the title. It's important to note that she was adopted and about the external maternal influences that shaped. These parts of her story certainly aren't 'straight' and most likely defined her later open and accepting outlook. But, it detracted from the (more) important story the book blurb drew us in with; that of her sons. We do not get their voices in the book, the perspective is purely from the mother's point of view. We could have done with more insight into the transition, the internal workings of a person - a young person at that - who goes through this challenging experience. Gender being on a spectrum is hard for a lot of people to understand, but it's not something that's clearly laid out enough for people to get a grasp of. Given the author's psychological knowledge, I was hoping for a lot more detail about the psychology of not only being transgender, but also that of their family. The author is candid about many of the struggles of the family, including the negatives; that must have been difficult to put down on paper. We get the story of the family, none of the science behind it.

The general writing feels rushed as it is slotted into neat episodic chapters. It makes for an incredibly easy read, but one that feels like it's only part of the picture. It has a happy, positive ending, which is needed for anyone on the spectrum looking for a little sense of hope. For young people, especially those struggling or coming to terms with the identities, this will be a quick, uplifting read.

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