Episode 380: When Supporting Your Trans Child Changes Your Marriage with Elle Baade

They say art imitates life, and this episode is a perfect example. My guest—and new bestie—is Elle Baade, author of the novel Consequences of Normal.

The book follows Jane, a mother fighting to find her voice and advocate for her child, who is clearly and joyfully transgender, while her husband insists it's only a phase. As Jane supports her child, the journey begins to reshape their entire family, including her marriage, and raises a much bigger question: What is normal, anyway?

While the novel is fiction, Elle is the mother of a transgender child herself. Jane's story draws from everything Elle has learned while raising her own child, as well as the experiences of the many parents she's met along the way.

What you'll hear about in this episode:

• What inspired Elle to write Consequences of Normal and why this story feels especially important right now (2:44)

• How a child coming out as transgender can affect a marriage, particularly when one parent is further along in understanding and acceptance than the other (8:39)

• The devastating rates of self-harm among transgender youth—and why supporting a trans child isn't simply about affirmation, but can be a matter of life and death (15:14)

• Why "normal" is a social construct, and how questioning it can open the door to greater honesty and authenticity (23:26)

• The conversations Elle hopes this book will spark among families struggling to understand and support one another (31:42)

Learn more about Elle Baade:

After years of writing freelance for local and regional publications, Elle Baade now writes upmarket women's fiction about empowering women. She writes about unique family dynamics to show that we are all more alike than we are different and that there is no such thing as normal. Elle writes to open pathways for communication around hard things where women have historically been encouraged to stay silent. Elle is the mother of four children, one of whom is transgender.

Resources & Links:

• Kate Anthony's Complete Parenting Plan
• Focused Strategy Sessions with Kate
• The Divorce Strategy Toolkit
  
• Phoenix Rising: A Divorce Empowerment Collective
  
• Kate on Instagram
  
• Kate on Facebook
  
• Kate's Substack Newsletter: Divorce Coaching Dispatch
  
• Episodes are also available YouTube!
• Seven Step Mindset Reset for Divorce
  
• Elle's book, Consequences of Normal
• Elle on TikTok
• Elle on Instagram
• Elle on Facebook
  
• Elle's website

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DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS AVAILABLE ON THIS PODCAST ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY, COACH, OR THERAPIST IN YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PARTICULAR ISSUE OR PROBLEM.

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