Overview

Testing expectations of motherhood and faith, this haunting and breathtakingly-honest depiction of the transformation of a family through the mystery of gender questioning and identity is a dual story of awakening: of the heart of a mother towards her transgendered child, and of the child's awakening to his, her, their fluidity of gender. FOR YEARS, HER SON KEPT A SECRET. A BIG SECRET. The bombshell, delivered shortly after he left for college, left author C.A. Gibbs questioning everything. What was real? Was she being a good parent? Through fear, anxiety, faith, loss, and grief, Gibbs shares the remarkable experiences triggered by the discovery that her adult child isn't-and maybe hasn't ever been-the person she thought. In The Picture Wall: One Woman's Story of Being His Her Their Mother, Gibbs lifts the curtain on life with a child who lives outside societal norms and expectations. From her earliest desire of wanting nothing more than to be a mother, to facing her own life-and-death medical diagnosis before it was safe to get pregnant, to the self-doubt and push-back from others when she expressed concern over her toddler's development, Gibbs finally comes to terms with the fact that the picture-perfect life displayed in her scrapbooks and on her family picture wall wasn't reality. At least it wasn't the full picture. The Picture Wall: One Woman's Story of Being His Her Their Mother takes us on an intimate and emotional journey toward healing as Gibbs comes to terms with raising an autistic child, parenting a transgender adult child, telling family a child is transgender, letting go as children grow up to live authentic lives on their own terms, and embracing being empty nesters.

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9781989059609

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Reviews

""Haunting and breathtaking. A must read."" -Yvonne Caputo, Flying With Dad: A Daughter, A Father, & the Hidden Gifts in His WWII Stories ""A story of deep commitment and great courage."" -Gwyn Teatro, In the Thick of It: Mastering the Art of Leading from the Middle ""A tale of acceptance, celebration and loving our children just the way they are."" -Sue Robins, Bird's Eye View: Stories of a Life Lived in Health Care ""Written with courage and honesty."" -Judith Frizlen, Unpacking Guilt: A Mother's Journey to Freedom ""A dual story of awakening of the heart of a mother towards her transgendered child and of the child's awakening to his, her, their fluidity of gender. Raw, honest, and hopeful in the deepest sense of the heart."" -Susy Sanders, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Morning Bridge Center, Maine

Haunting and breathtaking. A must read. -Yvonne Caputo, Flying With Dad: A Daughter, A Father, & the Hidden Gifts in His WWII Stories A story of deep commitment and great courage. -Gwyn Teatro, In the Thick of It: Mastering the Art of Leading from the Middle A tale of acceptance, celebration and loving our children just the way they are. -Sue Robins, Bird's Eye View: Stories of a Life Lived in Health Care Written with courage and honesty. -Judith Frizlen, Unpacking Guilt: A Mother's Journey to Freedom A dual story of awakening of the heart of a mother towards her transgendered child and of the child's awakening to his, her, their fluidity of gender. Raw, honest, and hopeful in the deepest sense of the heart. -Susy Sanders, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Morning Bridge Center, Maine

Author Information

C.A. Gibbs is the author of the memoir, The Picture Wall: One Woman's Story of Being His Her Their Mother. Ms. Gibbs is the proud mother of two adults, one daughter and one nonbinary person. Motherhood, for her, has been defined by the autism, transgenderism, and mental illness experienced by her oldest child. Ms. Gibbs is also a writer, transcriptionist, former elementary school teacher, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and proud dog-mom to a rambunctious golden retriever. She and her husband are enjoying an empty nest, but they joyfully celebrate times when the kids come home and fill the house with noise and laughter. While Ms. Gibbs takes her work seriously, she relaxes when she camps, plays board games, visits with friends over coffee, and gets to binge-watch crime dramas.

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