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  • Detransition, Baby

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Torrey Peters
  • Narrated by: Renata Friedman
  • Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (85 ratings)

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Detransition, Baby cover art

Detransition, Baby

Written by: Torrey Peters
Narrated by: Renata Friedman
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Publisher's Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER The lives of three women—transgender and cisgender—collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires in “one of the most celebrated novels of the year” (Time)

“Reading this novel is like holding a live wire in your hand.”—Vulture

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by more than twenty publications, including The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Time, Vogue, Esquire, Vulture, and Autostraddle

PEN/Hemingway Award WinnerFinalist for the Lambda Literary Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Gotham Book PrizeLonglisted for The Women’s PrizeRoxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club PickNew York Times Editors’ Choice

Reese almost had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in New York City, a job she didn't hate. She had scraped together what previous generations of trans women could only dream of: a life of mundane, bourgeois comforts. The only thing missing was a child. But then her girlfriend, Amy, detransitioned and became Ames, and everything fell apart. Now Reese is caught in a self-destructive pattern: avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men.

Ames isn't happy either. He thought detransitioning to live as a man would make life easier, but that decision cost him his relationship with Reese—and losing her meant losing his only family. Even though their romance is over, he longs to find a way back to her. When Ames's boss and lover, Katrina, reveals that she's pregnant with his baby—and that she's not sure whether she wants to keep it—Ames wonders if this is the chance he's been waiting for. Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family—and raise the baby together?

This provocative debut is about what happens at the emotional, messy, vulnerable corners of womanhood that platitudes and good intentions can't reach. Torrey Peters brilliantly and fearlessly navigates the most dangerous taboos around gender, sex, and relationships, gifting us a thrillingly original, witty, and deeply moving novel.

©2021 Torrey Peters (P)2021 Random House Audio

What the critics say

Detransition, Baby is so good I want to scream.” (Carmen Maria Machado)

“This book is exhilaratingly good.” (Jia Tolentino)

“An unforgettable portrait of three women, trans and cis, who wrestle with questions of motherhood and family making. ... Detransition, Baby might destroy your book club, but in a good way.” (Andrea Lawlor, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl)

What listeners say about Detransition, Baby

Average Customer Ratings
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Insightful.

It wasn’t my favourite but I was a truly good book. Well researched and insightful. I’m glad to have read it because I was able to learn something(s) new. Overall? 5 stars.

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Loved it

I don’t know if I ended up liking any of the characters or even the store that much, but I loved the book… so…. Shrug emoji? Great listen.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Thought provoking

As a pregnant CIS woman I found this book absolutely engrossing. I have very little interactions with the trans community, so found some of the chapters on the concepts of womanhood very insightful and intriguing. It created a lot of moments of self reflection and also recognizing how little I understand about gender vs sex. The writing was amazing, and the narrators voice was perfect.

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amazing writing and story

Read this book for my book club and everyone loved it. might be this years fav book
I learnt a lot about myself and my sexulaity from this book as well as more insight on the life of a trans women in America. some key concepts that stick with me today.

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Thought provoking

I enjoyed all the characters and their insights. Story line was interesting. Enjoyed that it didn’t end in a happy ending sometimes those endings are so predictable

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A timely story.

Life changing story on queer parenting. A must read that takes you through the questions, politics and emotions of to be parents and what that means outside of heteronormativity.

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Absolutely wonderful

Smart, witty, powerful, and profound book. It is also excellently narrated - great blend of emotion and lived-ness with social critique. I would highly recommend.

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Totally Immersed in another viewpoint

I appreciated the honest frank and diverse presentation of different forms of queerness. I was challenged and had my eyes open to the small micro aggressions and subtle but large obstacles of the non-hetero normative experience.

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No closure

This book ends in a horrible cliff hanger with nothing wrapped up. So annoying. I felt like the book was advertised as a book about a queer family trying to navigate a new way of parenting, instead of it was more about sex, gender identity, and trauma. I kept hoping it would get to what the story was advertised to be, but it never did.

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