There are lots of things to break your heart in this book, although the one that stays with me is the fact that Mr. Anderson appears not to have spoken to a single well-adjusted transgender individual throughout what I’m sure were his many minutes of meticulous research. Among the trans people I know best are a professor of astrophysics, a fire captain in Columbus, Ohio, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, a Navy SEAL, an airplane pilot, two ministers and the owner of an orange plantation in Florida. It would have been nice if, in addition to the half dozen people with difficult stories Mr. Anderson interviewed, he’d spoken to some of these folks as well — people who would have assured him that transition has made their lives more joyful and complete.

How much longer must transgender people continue to participate in public conversations about whether or not we know our own souls? How many clever “think pieces” must we endure in which our humanity is held up for debate, as if the question of our own selfhood is part of an argument which even now we might win or lose? What will it take for people on the right — and yes, some on the left as well — to understand that we are here, that we have been part of humanity for centuries and that what we want above all is to be left alone, just like anyone else, so that we may live our lives according to the dictates of our own hearts?

It would be nice if, instead of seeking to erase the lives of those who are different, the perplexed might respond to the transgender moment in the spirit of Robert F. Kennedy. Soon after learning about the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he told a crowd in Indianapolis: “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”

Or whether they be gay, or lesbian, or bi, or trans.

I know that the current administration isn’t that of Robert F. Kennedy, of course. But somehow I also keep hoping that things have gotten as bad as they’re going to get. Surely, I think, Republicans have done as much damage as they can possibly do to families like mine.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to look for justice.