Visibility

Apr 01, 2026

Today is Trans Visibility Day. Tomorrow1 is the first night of Passover.

Charoset, like soup — and for the same reason — needs to be made in advance.

Last weekend was No Kings. I have a book coming out in five weeks. My calendar is…full.

And full of mixed feelings. Visibility is great, but the politics of being visible — and having to be visible — are always complicated and are especially complicated for trans people, many of whom want not to be visible2, and of course a person should not need to be visible to be treated like a person.

No Kings was also quite visible. We met friends then lost them almost as soon as we started marching. So. Many. People.

The Les Miserables poster is a little on the nose. On the other hand, musicals make the world better, and isn’t that what we’re marching for?

The first anti-Tr*mp march, right after he was inaugurated the first time, was three days before This Is How It Always Is came out. That book, also about trans visibility, was at first met with some vitriol but more love. Then it started to feel dated for a while, in the best possible way. Then I wrote three more books. Now, here on the cusp of Enormous Wings, we’re still marching, still angry, still visible, and This Is How It Always Is — and its outlandish3 premise that trans kids are also kids and also worthy of love and celebration — is timely and edgy yet again. In the worst possible way. That we’re still out here marching and chanting and reading and writing whole-ass books and being visible AF often causes me despair. But the fact that we’ve faced what we’ve faced since January 2017 but keeping showing up in all sorts of ways anyway? I mean, it’s breathtaking.

Enormous Wings is not a political book, but it’s definitely got some political elements because its characters are living in the same maddening world you are, and they’re also, rightly, pissed. Being characters in a novel, however, they have narrative justice at their disposal, and I hope it will be a balm for your soul. I hope it will also be a different way of thinking about some of the same shit. In response to some comers, I’ve been a little apologetic about not excising all the politics from this novel in order to make it more, I don’t know, escapist I guess? But I’m trying not to apologize. It’s not my fault the powers-that-be are assholes. To review from an earlier missive, “we die on the march,” but the only alternative is not to march at all. And that alternative is not presently available to us.

When Tom Stoppard died, everyone was recommending *Arcadia* so I recommended *Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead*. I wasn’t being ornery; just aiming for wider reading and diversity. But since I didn’t tell you last time, let this be the reading rec for this time. If you haven’t read *Arcadia*, go read *Arcadia*. And if you have read *Arcadia*, go read *Arcadia* again. Read and read and read *Arcadia*.

Meantime, if you’re also feeling fierce and unapologetic and want to win a free copy of Enormous Wings, you’ve got eight days left to enter. I don’t think they’re going to send it to you before the book comes out though, so it might be just as fast to preorder it (somewhat less free but does come with my undying gratitude).

And book tour! The best thing about book tour is getting to see all of you in person. The worst thing about book tour is if you don’t come. So please come! Bring your book club. Bring a friend. Bring your grandparents or your grandchildren or your children’s grandparents. I promise to make it worth your while. All that said, book tour plans are still in progress — I’ll know more next time and keep you posted — but here’s for starters:

So I hope to see you very soon. In the meantime, happy Passover, happy Easter, happy Trans Day of Visibility, happy No Kings, happy reading.

Love Laurie

In fact, yesterday and this evening, respectively, by the time you read this.

At least not visibly trans.

Sarcasm, in case that wasn’t clear

Butt + Chair

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