LEA HOPE BECKER 

Marlene Sternberg’s 42-year-old bachelor son, Robbie, who lives and works hundreds of miles away, fails to call her on her 70th birthday. Several days later she gets a mysterious package from him and before she can open it, he phones and drops a bombshell. He’s no longer her son — he’s had a sex-change operation and he’s now her daughter. Marlene realizes that her husband, Henry, although a devoted father, is also a conservative old-fashioned guy who will be out of his mind when he gets the news.

Why did Robbie have to keep his surgery secret until after the fact? Why was Marlene’s younger child, 37-year-old daughter Linda, instrumental in financing the operation? Suddenly Marlene’s everyday obsessions take a back seat to the new family dynamics. No longer is her biggest problem her thirty pounds of excess weight or even the fact that tightwad Henry won’t pay for the facelift she desires. Will Henry try to close the door on his relationship with Robbie? What should Marlene advise her new transgendered daughter to do about Robbie’s earlier commitment to stand up as a groomsman for wealthy cousin Cissy’s imminent lavish wedding, since none of the extended family knows about the operation?

As the weeks pass, Marlene sees the possibility that the harrowing upset to the family relationships can be normalized if only Henry is given time to adjust. Will her maternal instincts and love for her two children overcome all the new obstacles facing her? Lea Becker’s treatment of a sensitive subject is written with empathy and humor. This fictional tale about a family with a dilemma is a story that could be true and could be playing out right now in your neighborhood or your own home.