Majors
English, Fisheries and Wildlife
Name of research or creative activity project
Sun: a Bedtime Story for the Trans Child I Didn't Know I Was
About the project
I am in the process of writing a children's book inspired by my experiences growing up and coming out as a trans woman to my Christian mother. The book is a space-fantasy is set in the dwarf galaxy Leo II and draws a lot of influence from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This project also features beautiful water color paintings by my collaborator Ozzy Youngblood, which I hope to feature in the final published work. The goal of this book is to provide a positive representation of how children can communicate their relationship to their gender with their parents.
When I came out to my parents I was so terrified of rejection that I ended up anticipating it and struggled to see the efforts they were making to understand me. My Mom and I finally reconnected a few years ago, and since then I have come to see her as one of the most important people in my life. This book is my celebration of that relationship, embodied through the core relationship of the young protagonist, Sun, and her mother, Luna.
How have you benefitted from the project?
This project has represented an expansion in my writing in many ways. I am most experienced with writing poetry, and I've done very little writing directed towards younger audiences. I've spent a lot of time reading and re-reading The Little Prince and The Velveteen Rabbit (which I consider to be two of the most impactful children's books ever written) hoping to gain insight into how to best approach communicating with a younger audience while still addressing big themes. In the process I've felt myself grow a lot of a writer, and I hope to continue to do research to make this the best book I can.
Lilliane Roberts presented at the No Limits Conference. The image above includes watercolor art by Ozzy Youngblood with an inset photo of Lilliane Roberts.
