Part of the chapter book series inspired by the number one New York Times bestseller She Persisted, by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, this biography of Admiral Rachel Levine is thoughtful and informative. Author Lisa Bunker, who is not only a writer but was one of the first few transgender people elected to a state legislature, brings both an awareness of trans identities and an understanding of politics to bear in covering Levine’s life from birth to her appointment as U.S. assistant secretary for health.
Right in the first chapter, we learn that Levine was born transgender, which means “she was born with with a boy body, but on the inside, in her mind and in her heart, she was a girl,” Bunker explains. She also tells us that there were no trans people Levine could look to for examples, so she hid the fact that she was a girl and tried to act like a boy.
Levine “had a happy childhood” nonetheless, with parents who took good care of her. She was bullied for being Jewish and because she had two working parents, however, so her parents moved her to a private boys’ high school, where she did well in classes despite having to act like a boy to fit in.
We follow her through Harvard and medical school, residency and marriage, parenthood to two children, and becoming an administrator. Eventually, she let herself be the woman she knew herself to be. Although this made her wife uncomfortable and their marriage ended, they remained friends. Her children and own mother accepted her.
Her career continued to flourish and she became physician general of Pennsylvania after the governor heard of her work with LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Pennsylvania. Bunker explains both what it meant to now be working in public health, and how some people objected to her appointment because they thought trans people were “crazy or dangerous.” Bunker clearly debunks this myth and emphasizes how Levine kept working, offering important representation that “trans is normal and healthy” while also helping people with drug addiction and doing much more.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and even as Levine worked to keep people safe, she was attacked in the media for being trans. Her work was notable enough, however, than President Joe Biden asked her to become the U.S. assistant secretary for health, the first trans person to be confirmed by the Senate for a job. In this role, she helped make the country “a safer and healthier place.” She also became a four-star admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the first trans person in any uniformed service to achieve that rank.
Bunker does a good job of showcasing Levine’s accomplishments as a health professional while also exploring where and how her trans identity (or people’s reactions to it) impacted her life. In my admittedly limited cisgender view, she strikes a good balance, neither skimming over Levine’s trans identity nor making this into a story purely about her transitioning and coming out. Levine is more than any one aspect of herself, and Bunker respects that.
Bunker nevertheless also highlights Levine’s numerous firsts in representation for women and trans people, “show[ing] the world that trans women can be leaders and champions.”
A final section on “How You Can Persist” offers suggestions for how readers can emulate Levine, by caring for others, working hard, learning about trans lives and respecting trans identities, and living as their authentic selves when they are ready.
Pencil drawings by Gillian Flint complement the text, offering visual interest for readers making the shift from picture books.
A worthy addition to any home or library collection of women’s, LGBTQ, and/or scientists’ biographies.
