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Becoming the Enchantress is the story of a transgender parent that faces personal longing for change. Given the acceptance and encouragement of her children, the parent magically transforms from a Wizard into an Enchantress on Halloween night. The story highlights themes of acceptance and the love between child and parent. Becoming the Enchantress is unique in that it is written for children whose parent is the
one discovering their dysphoria and seeking reassignment, rather than that of the child or teenager themselves.
What people are saying...
“I challenge you to/ Unzip your skin and see/if you make it to the West Coast./Exactly.” In Escape Velocity, Kristin Kowalski Ferragut invites us to experience the moments that make a life with finely honed wording and well-crafted stanzas that awaken every sense, often in unexpected ways. With deep compassion, she delves into relationships with family, loves and loves lost, the joys and sorrows that come with the bits and pieces that make a life and give us our sense of where we are in the world, sprinkled with delectable moments of wry humor. This exquisite debut poetry collection takes us beyond our usual understanding of self and place in a “rare conversation that matters.”
• Lucinda Marshall
Founder and Host, DiVerse Gaithersburg Poetry Reading
Author of Inheritance Of Aging Self
Kristin Kowalski Ferragut sends us “Whirling/in our individual little confoundations,” as she reconciles the collective discord we face. She shoulders such universal themes as grief, love and grace in a uniquely flawless dance. In “Unbearable Lightness” she muses, “We anchor ourselves in burdens, lost causes…to keep from floating away.” In lines like this, Ferragut startles us from our safe repose to experience the jeopardy and promise of motion; to believe in second chances and in our ability to “put the blood back/in the stone.”
• Alison Palmer, author of The Need for Hiding
A courageous testament, lush with startling imagery, Kristin Kowalski Ferragut’s Escape Velocity focuses on the personal in order to illuminate the universal. “Truth leaves words in shambles,” Ferragut cautions us, nevertheless, “All the days in this long life / fill with
such wonder of / words ....” With each poem standing on its own as a singular story, taken as a whole, this premier collection takes the reader on an Odyssey, unsettling at times, tender at others, through memory and loss, forward with strength and resilience to
confront “This love of what grows wild flowers ... erratic, uncertain, hard to stare down.” The laws of physics cannot constrain this poet’s quest; the reader will be rewarded for accompanying her on the journey.
• W. Luther Jett, author of Everyone Disappears, Our Situation, and Not Quite
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What people are saying...
Becoming the Enchantress fills a heretofore neglected niche in children’s literature. It conveys the struggle of a parent to find, in this case, her true identity, and the children’s loving acceptance of it. It should prove a useful resource for families with a transgender or non-binary parent.
—W. Luther Jett, retired Special Educator, Montgomery County Public Schools, author of Our Situation and Everyone Disappears
Becoming the Enchantress is a beautiful story about a life changing transition. It uses imagery that children can understand to discuss a difficult topic. The book details the emotions of someone who is learning how to be their true self. The story shows that while children may not fully understand the issue, They are accepting and are willing to love others for who they are.
—Stacy Whipp, M.Ed.
A wonderful story for all ages of unconditional love and acceptance for people! Be true to who you are and love yourself and you will feel completely fulfilled. This story teaches us that no matter what, a person’s heart and soul is what defines them.
—Katherine R Stull, LCSW-C
Becoming the Enchantress is a wonderful tale for anyone who has questioned their identity or has loved someone doing so. It treats the delicate subject in the most loving way possible, with gorgeous illustrations, spotlighting the magic that positive self-image and family acceptance can create.
— Michelle Zibrat, Art Educator
I am both the parent of a trans child and a therapist that supports transitioning children, teens and adults. I Iove Becoming the Enchantress as it is a lovely story that explains the need to transition from your sex assigned at birth to your true self. Children will connect both with the Wizard and his family in this story. Using the experience of "trying on" a different persona is a lovely way to introduce the children to the wizard and the concept of transitions.
—Theresa Fraser , CYC-P, CPT-S, NSCCT, MA, RP, Trauma and Loss Clinical Specialist
This lovely book featuring animal characters meets children at their level of magical wonderment, where developmentally all things are possible without judgment. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for families with young children who want to keep an open mind to non-binary choices, without delving into deep discussions and extensive explanations.
—Laurie Zelinger, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S, Board Certified Psychologist and author of Please Explain
Anxiety to Me
There are many stories out there that share messages of encouragement. Often we find children’s books where the parent is teaching the message of being authentic to oneself. This story flips the roles and the multiple messages that are conveyed by writing this way are to be celebrated.
In Becoming the Enchantress the children are the ones that encourage their parent to be their authentic self. I love the son and daughter’s words to their parent that encourages them to love and celebrate themself in the way that feels best to them. This story has a universal message of acceptance that is not given to but given by children.
—Lorrie Bennett, M.Ed., Elementary Special Education Teacher
Video Interview of Kristin & Coley by Laura Di Franco of Brave Healer Productions
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Anthologies
