‘Who is, and is not, my family’

Betrayal.

Leslie Feinberg illustrates her anger and feelings of betrayal at the hands of her sister Catherine Ryan Hyde. Catherine made the choice to write a book based solely on the life of Leslie that is both fictional and compeltely unauthorized. She makes excuses as to why it is ok for her to publicize her sister’s life as well as how she feels about transgendered individuals because she grew up with a transgender sibling.

Leslie argues that while her sister was present in her life, she was not a part of her life. Leslie went as far as to put forth a written and verbal request for no further contact with her mother, father, or sister. This goes to show the extent to which Leslie wanted no parts of her family. She has adopted a family of her own and feels secure in her decision.

I was not there and can not relate to the way in which Leslie feels but I am certain that if a person would go so far as to disown their family and successfully create a life outside of that… they were and are extremely hurt. I think Leslie’s decisions are unique to her and worth her own personal happiness. We are only granted one life and she is grabbing hold of her own life and doing what’s best for her. That’s commendable and hard to accomplish. I can’t shake the urge to want to know exaclty what it was that her immediate family did or didnt do that made her feel the way she feels.

Catherine completly invaded her privacy and went about writing her book in a rude manner. Some things are personal and are not meant to be disclosed to the public. If it were me in a situation such as Leslie’s, I might have done the same thing. Life if hard, but it can be harder when you have a family that isn’t supportive and ridicules who you are as a person.