Alex Bertie ( @therealalexbertie​​ ) - Trans Mission: My Quest To A Beard

If what you are looking for is a relatable, insightful and honest insight into life as a transgender man, Alex Bertie’s Trans Mission is exactly the place to start. All too often when looking at trans media in the past I have found they’re not made with a trans audience in mind. Instead there is a painful tendency for cisgendered creators to sensationalise or alienate the transgender stories they are telling. Not once did Trans Mission give me that feeling, instead it is Alex’s truth: a raw truth not at all dissimilar to countless men around the world. 

Though that does not mean you have to be trans to gain something from this book. In telling his story of growing up, coming out and navigating the NHS as trans, Alex’s primary goal it to educate. While there are sections on safe binding practices and coping with dysphoria to help young trans gender people, Trans Mission is also capable of teaching friends and relatives about those who identify as trans--be this through the importance of using the correct names and pronouns, why certain experiences could make trans people feel a certain way, or even just to understand the hardships facing trans people in day to day life. 

A brilliant addition to this educational nature of the book is the chapter towards the end written by Alex’s mother. While it is beyond important to respect a trans person in their identity, I believe this insight into multiple perspectives takes Trans Mission to a whole new level. In reading this chapter a young trans person may be able to better understand their own parents’ reactions to their coming out, likewise a parent reading this would also have someone to relate to, both of which could be immensely beneficial to a family navigating these experiences together. 

What I found most enjoyable about this read, however, was how truly relatable Alex’s writing became the deeper I went into the book. One chapter in particular stood out to me: the chapter on haircuts. While reading this I couldn’t help but be transported back even a few months to an experience of my own: myself out as trans for the first time and with a group of other ftm trans friends, all discussing the fact that ever trans guy has a haircut story. With that in mind it was no wonder Alex included a chapter like that in his book. Although a haircut can be such a simple thing, for many, it can be an incredible first step in a person’s transition, and it is this which cemented the connection and sense of community I felt with this book. It very well may be this reliability which brings the most benefit to young people reading Trans Mission as it proves anyone experiencing these same feelings aren’t alone. 

I truly believe Trans Mission is a brilliant place to start for anyone hoping to learn more about life as a transgender person, but it is just that: a start. While Alex’s story is deeply insightful and honest, his is just one of countless stories which have mostly, until this point, gone untold. Every trans person’s experience differs, but the more books like this appearing out there the better we will all be for it. But, for now, I can’t recommend this enough.