My Brother My Sister: Story of a Transformation

A feminist film critic s thoughtful, outspoken memoir about transgender and family

On a visit to New York, the brother of well-known film critic Molly Haskell dropped a bombshell: Nearing age sixty, and married, he had decided to become a woman. In the vein of Jan Morris s classic Conundrum and Jennifer Finney Boylan's She's Not There, a transgender memoir, Haskell s My Brother My Sister gracefully explores a delicate subject, this time from the perspective of a family member.

Haskell chronicles her brother Chevey s transformation through a series of psychological evaluations, grueling surgeries, drug regimens, and comportment and fashion lessons as he becomes Ellen. Despite Haskell s liberal views on gender roles, she was dumbfounded by her brother s decision. With candor and compassion, she charts not only her brother s journey to becoming her sister, but also her own path from shock, confusion, embarrassment, and devastation to acceptance, empathy, and love.

Haskell widens the lens on her brother s story to include scientific and psychoanalytic views. In an honest, informed voice, she has revealed the controversial world of gender reassignment and transsexuals from both a personal and a social perspective in this frank and moving memoir.