Book Review: Trans/Forming Feminisms: Trans-Feminist Voices Speak Out

Abstract

148 narrated moments of sheer joy, such as Kendra’s excitement about her first gallery showing, at which she sells some of her paintings. There is much beauty and tenderness in her blossoming relationship with Meghan, who is dealing with her own trauma at the hands of a physically abusive and neglectful alcoholic mother. Kendra also finds peace through her support network: Carolyn, Sandy, a family friend who facilitates her artistic pursuits where her own jealous mother, an artist herself, can only criticize, and Mrs. Archer, her compassionate and encouraging art teacher. The end of the novel also leaves readers hopeful. A heroic and dramatic confrontation with her abuser reveals the depth of Kendra’s strength and courage. Kendra also witnesses some developments in her relationship with her mother, but her ultimate ability to form a reconstituted family through her support network is what allows her to feel loved and safe. At the end of the book, Rainfield includes an open and honest author’s note, in which shares some of her personal experiences of abuse and self-harm, and an annotated bibliography of web resources for queer teens, survivors of incest, ritual abuse, and self-harm. These make the novel an incredibly useful pedagogical tool. But the most important work that Scars does is to reveal the importance of bearing witness to trauma. After Kendra’s sexual abuse is revealed to everyone in the narrative, she says, “I’m not afraid. And I’m not ashamed either. I just feel a lightness now, like I can breathe easier. And I don’t think that’s going to go away.” Kendra’s is a profound narrative of survival. Yet through her strength, she is able to do more than merely survive; as Sandy tells her: “you, my girl—you’re going to thrive.” This might well be the most powerful message of Scars, and the most important one for anyone seeking to find solace and encouragement in its pages.