Free To Be

Understanding Kids & Gender Identity

By: Jack Turban MD MD

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Jack Turban MD MD

This authoritative guide to understanding and navigating gender identity from an acclaimed expert on the mental health of transgender and gender diverse youth is “a must-read for anyone seeking to better understand how we can truly help all our children thrive” (Chelsea Clinton, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

Kids today are more gender-fluid and expansive than ever before. In America, around two percent of teenagers (over 700,000) openly identify as transgender. As it becomes increasingly common for us to encounter and know transgender kids, as well as kids with expansive notions of gender, it is vital that we have the tools to truly see and support them.

Free to Be is a comprehensive deep dive by internationally renowned child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Jack Turban into the science, medicine, and politics of gender identity. You will be immersed in the lives of three trans and gender diverse youth—Meredith, Kyle, and Sam—as they navigate their gender identities, make decisions around gender-affirming medical and psychological care, and confront an overwhelming political and social terrain.

By combining the latest scientific research, stories of transgender children, and the intricacies of today’s political gender wars, Free to Be is an essential “resource that will empower trans and non-binary people everywhere, as well as those who love and want to support them” (Jazz Jennings, author of Being Jazz and star of I Am Jazz).

Everyone should read this book

This book is for everyone who needs better knowledge around this topic. Specifically if you live in the US. I highly recommend.

A must read for any trans person or parent of trans kids

Compelling case studies and the Narrator is very easy to listen to. I also recommend the authors interview with Dr. Mike on YouTube, that’s how I found this book! He holds his ground and defends trans rights in a way that is easy for anyone to understand. Thank you for this wonderful book!

A book that actually centers trans voices

With the current anti-trans panic that has been prevalent throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and parts of Europe, is it refreshing to have academics and medical doctors who are willing to speak up in support of the trans community. I am a transgender man myself, and despite the growing hostility towards and infantilization of the transgender community, our voices have been ignored regarding our own rights and healthcare. Recent debate surrounding documents like the Cass Review has prioritized faux concerns of cisgender people over the rights and lives of those who are most affected by anti-trans legislation -- trans people. These actors have prioritized the voices of political pundits and undermined parsimony in scientific discussion of transgender healthcare. This is why I was happy to see Dr. Turban release a book on this subject during a point in time where transgender people need support from those in academia and medicine.

Drawing from the contents of this book, Dr. Turban incorporates a combination of qualitative and quantitative research and presents it in an easily digestible manner that laypeople can understand. He addresses a variety of topics including puberty blockers, gender-affirming surgery, hormones, and the manner in which the modern political landscape has shaped the experiences of transgender people, including trans youth. Many of the testimonies he references are complemented by scientific literature, resulting in a great literary flow throughout the book.

While I unfortunately doubt that many anti-trans activists will ever end up reading this book, it incorporates a compelling combination of factual and emotional appeal that I believe would allow many people to not only understand the scientific consensus behind gender-affirming care but would also help to ease politically-manufactured distress. If you are uncertain about trans healthcare and wish to understand the experiences of trans people ourselves, then I strongly recommend this book. It is easy to get through and is highly informative, even for those who are already well-versed in the subject.

A clear and sympathetic explanation of gender affirming care for kids in the US

Dr. Jack Turban offers a nuanced and sympathetic look into gender affirming care for young people in the US context. Using composite case studies from his own years of experience, he is able to bring his patients to life as real, three dimensional people rather than just abstractions tossed about in the culture wars. His exploration extends into the science and evidence-based research that informs transgender medical care, talks about the current political climate, and addresses many of the misconceptions repeated in the popular media. This is a great primer for exploring the many aspects of gender affirming medical care and the patients served by it.

A Book Worth Recommending

I feel that the importance of this book in the current political climate can't be understated. It's focus on real people, their stories, the science, and the common political misconceptions about trans people is refreshing, to say the least.