Summary

Rosie and Penn consult a therapist named Mr. Tongo in search of “an entirely different way of looking at things” (66). Mr. Tongo diagnoses Claude with gender dysphoria and congratulates his parents for making him feel comfortable enough to wear a dress at home. Rosie is still concerned about how Claude’s behavior will affect his future happiness, and all three acknowledge that lack of acceptance at school causes him to suffer. Mr. Tongo, however, thinks that this will teach him an important lesson about how to be true to himself in the face of resistance, adding that his parents “must pave his way in his world” (70). He assigns them to record Claude’s “boy behaviors and girl behaviors” in a journal (71).

Penn quickly discovers that this is a more complicated task than it sounds and adds a column in his journal...