Winner of 2018 Feathered Quill Book Award and the Stroud Arts Book Festival Award!
This is a well-written memoir on a topic that people don't see much of on the library/store/online book shelves. A must-read and valuable addition to LGBTQ collections. This book scored a perfect 100 from the cover to the content. Excellent job!
-- Feathered Quill Book Awards Judges' Committee
When you say you love someone, do you really? In this warm, funny, and surprising story, if you don't ask yourself what love really means to you, you're not paying attention. Lynn has written a compelling and intriguing story about love, family, and unconditional love.
With her clear voice and profound understanding of human nature, Lynn Thorne challenges all of us to examine our own belief systems and how much of our own identity is dependent on the identities of those we love. Makes you think ... and that's a very good thing.
-- Kathleen P. Dunn
I'm completely enamored with this book. I love when I pick up a book and find myself almost studying it, instead of just reading it. I find myself highlighting certain passages....This book is about love, how to find it, understand it, and how far one will go to keep it - all based on the pure heart and souls of people. It is an amazing read and told easily while being stimulating, and simply while being intricate. I have recommended this book to many people; it is a wonderful way to walk in the shoes of others and find that eventually, we all wear the same size shoes.
-- Reenie King
Lynn Thorne brings her empathic heart and ear to sharing the story of real-life couple Marika and Jennifer were two soul mates facing a seemingly blissful future together until Marika revealed her authentic self: she was meant to be a man. Told from Jennifer's perspective, 'Who Am I If You're Not You?' demonstrates the human capacity to love. How much pain can one woman stand? How much conflict can one couple overcome and stay committed to their marriage? As her wife transitions, Jennifer goes through her own personal hell to find herself. Anorexia. Cutting. Crippling depression. But what she discovers in her quest to save herself will define her life, her love, and her marriage.
Obviously this book speaks deeply to the LGBTQ community and their friends. But further, as Lynn herself says, 'There are many people who can benefit from this book...there are messages within that will also resonate with anyone who listens for them. Messages of inclusion. Acceptance. Strength. Perseverance. Love. Lessons. And love. There it is again - love.". Lynn wonderfully shares her caring with integrity.
-Amazon review from Seadancer
An exceptionally interesting story told in a calm, clear objective voice. Author Thorne expresses this very personal tale with truly remarkable candor, sympathy and love. I was quickly swept up into this tumultuous narrative and I gained a new sense of understanding and compassion for the two fascinating women portrayed. A great first effort; I hope this writer will produce many equally insightful works in future. Brava!
-Amazon review from George A. Christensen
"Who Am I If You're Not You?" is a stimulating, heartfelt work that kept me from all other stimuli (texts, email, games, movies) on a transcontinental flight and most of the return one. That this is a work of nonfiction is amazing. The "characters" experience love, romance and partnership in grand form until unavoidable and unpredictable choices must be made. Marika's grit and courage in initiating her voyage to become Marc is fascinating. One realizes that this is not just a physical change, but an emotional and intellectual one as well. Denying this transformation would have been devastating, but the effects are most challenging for Marika/Marc and the loved ones who want to be supportive but are dealing with their own presumptions as well. Most affected is Jennifer, who fell in love with Marika and then must see her way through loving the same person who is going through a monumental life change. That is what makes this unique story universal: the person we fall in love with never remains the same and for the relationship to last, being adaptable and accepting is paramount. It is not easy, as we see in Thorne's fine storytelling, but it can be strengthening.
This is a story of real people who I would like to meet and hang out with. That's how much "Who Am I..." made me empathize with them.
- Amazon review from MrGoGo Royal PITA