Matt

Matt Johnson is the protagonist of the memoir, and the memoir is written from their first person perspective. The author George identifies as non-binary but refers to themselves in the memoir as a boy, or as a brother. Johnson explains “Although my real name is George, growing up I went by my middle name, Matt (as Nanny used to say, ‘I’m not calling no little baby [italicized] George’)” (3). This proves that Nanny plays such an important role in their life, she even changed Johnson’s name.

The memoir starts with an Author’s Note and Introduction from the author, but Matt’s character begins in Chapter 1, when Johnson explains how Matt, Rasul, Lil’ Rall, and Garrett all came to be raised together by Nanny. While the themes of the chapters center around a particular Nannyism, Johnson also uses each chapter to tell a story usually about...