Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this stirring debut memoir, Telfer recounts the challenges she has faced throughout her career as a trans athlete. Growing up in Jamaica, Telfer was bullied for the feminine "way I walk and talk" but discovered that her athleticism earned the begrudging respect of her classmates. While attending college in New Hampshire, she lived as a woman but competed on the men's track team until the dysphoria caused by competing in the men's category led her to quit. She resolved to join the women's team her senior year and was pleasantly surprised when the women's coach welcomed her with open arms; Telfer went on to win the women's 400-meter hurdles event at the 2019 NCAA national championships. After graduating, she set her sights on the 2021 Olympics and qualified for the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles events, but her dreams were dashed after the World Athletics organization banned trans women from competing in the women's category. The many injustices Telfer has had to endure outrage, but the clipped prose sometimes saps the narrative of momentum ("I get home. I hesitate. I'm not supposed to be on social media. Especially not now. But I can't resist," she writes of her deliberation over whether to read Donald Trump Jr.'s critical tweet about her in the run-up to the NCAA championships). Still, this tale of persisting in the face of adversity uplifts. (June)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Black transgender woman athlete chronicles her journey battling obstacles throughout her career. Born in Jamaica, Telfer, the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA title, shares anecdotes of her upbringing raised by her mother and volatile stepfather who, while her mother worked in Canada, sent her to live with her aunt. Despite being assigned male at birth, the author always believed she was female. She writes about how she was ridiculed by townsfolk and initially scorned by her mother, so she resolved to "hide my feminine side forever." Running, which was "a way of life" in Jamaica, became an obsession and a way to quell her feelings of gender dysphoria and the dissatisfaction of living a tortured double life. Ultimately, for fear of being killed in Jamaica, Telfer fled to New England to fulfill her dreams of living a free life and having the college experience, part of which was finding immense success as a track athlete. Her outstanding athleticism brought her name to prominence in sporting circles, and once she changed her name and confirmed her transgender status with coaches, she resigned to stop training with the male track team. Though many once-affirmative conversations about her potential turned derisive because of her trans status, Telfer dominated the competition to win an NCAA title in 2019. In this intimate glimpse into her life and career, the author candidly shares her story of perseverance to overcome the hateful backlash from her path toward the Olympics, where eligibility rules prevented her from competing in the women's 400-meter hurdles. The memoir concludes with Telfer emboldened to achieve a future Olympic victory. "Sports narratives inspire, ignite, evoke emotions, and most importantly, transcend cultural boundaries and unite people from across the globe under a common passion," she writes. "They should be about bringing people together, not tearing them apart." An inspirational portrait of trailblazing sports excellence. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
