ON OUR COVER
An Interview with Sammy Lisel about Becoming Who We Are
For those who aren ’ t familiar , can you tell us what readers can expect from BECOMING WHO WE ARE ?
BECOMING WHO WE ARE is a collection of stories from across the spectrum of . Real-life experiences . Nine members of the trans community share their inspirational childhood stories . These are tales of questioning , affirming , transitioning , and growing up !
How did this project come about ? I was researching famous trans people to create a booklet for my then 6 year old trans child , wanting her to know she is not alone and to see happy , thriving , successful , inspiring trans adults so she could imagine a happy future for herself . I ’ m a story teller , so once I got started I thought “ if i ’ m going to do this , why not do it for all the other children who could benefit from this .” The project morphed ( as they always do !). I decided to try to connect and interview trans people from all walks of life : scientists , teachers , adventurers … My first interview was with Robbi , a rock climber and forest ranger . She reminded me so much of my daughter ! And as I listened to her story , I started visualizing it . I knew then it had to be a comic book , not an anthology of short stories
What was it like putting together a comics anthology ? So much fun ! I mean I got to connect and get to know nine incredible people ! I was deeply moved and inspired by their journey . I could relate to so much they were sharing , the universal struggles of childhood , of growing up . I was drawn to their sense of humor , their kindness and candor , and awed by their courage and resilience . And it was so incredibly rewarding to collaborate with such a wide array of talented artists . Each of them actively shaped the stories and contributed their vision and style to the story , making each story unique .
Do any of the stories in the anthology stand out to you ? Each of them really contributed something to me personally . As mentioned above , Robbi Mecus reminds me of my child in temperament and so I feel a special kind of attachment to that story and to Robbi . But what ’ s so fascinating to me is how I could really relate to each story on one level or another : growing up feeling like my girlhood was so limiting , not exposed to any significant role models like Robin ; empathizing but also relating to Diamond ’ s being parentified and emotionally neglected ( even if our circumstances are so dramatically different ), or recognizing in my own childhood the fear of emotional disconnect if I was to express my true self as Sam did … Each story was relatable , each story shined light to parts of me , emotions I ’ ve experienced , choices I ’ ve had to make . And each story gave me courage to continue my journey to become who I am .
In terms of audience , who is BECOMING WHO WE ARE for ? EVERY KID ! I created BECOMING WHO WE ARE with trans children in mind and heart . I want them to have representation , to read fun and not didactic stories about other trans kids and to imagine their bright future . But I would like all children to read this book , so that cis kids can get to know , relate , and like kids that happen to be trans ! So we can normalize transness , and realize that it ’ s just a part , and sometimes a really minimal part , of what makes someone who they are !
What are you hoping readers take away from BECOMING WHO WE ARE ? That feeling you get when you meet someone and you really hit it off ! I hope these are stories that stay with readers as they go through their own ups and down and face their own challenges , giving reassurance that they are not alone , and a vision and hope for a bright future ahead of them .
6 diamondbookshelf . org