Join us for an Author Talk with Mimi Lemay as she discusses her book 
What We Will Become:  A Mother, a Son, and a Journey of Transformation

In Partnership with Jewish Family Service of Tidewater

From the age of two-and-a-half, Jacob, born “Em,” adamantly told his family he was a boy. While his mother Mimi struggled to understand and come to terms with the fact that her child may be transgender, she experienced a sense of déjà vu—the journey to uncover the source of her child’s inner turmoil unearthed ghosts from Mimi’s past and her own struggle to live an authentic life. As a young woman, Mimi wrestled with the demands of her faith and eventually made the painful decision to leave her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and the strict gender roles it upheld.

Dual narratives of faith and motherhood weave together to form a heartfelt portrait of an unforgettable family. Brimming with love and courage, What We Will Become is a powerful testament to how painful events from the past can be redeemed to give us hope for the future.

Mimi Lemay is an international advocate for transgender youth and the author of the viral essay "A Letter to My Son Jacob on His 5th Birthday." She is a member of the Parents for Transgender Equality National Council at Human Rights Campaign and holds a master's in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She was recently named one of the Commonwealth Heroines of 2020 by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.

The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council,
the only organization in the organized American Jewish community whose sole purpose is the promotion of Jewish books.