Chapter Meeting - Andrew Patrie

Name: Chapter Meeting - Andrew Patrie
Start: 2026-05-04T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-05-04T20:00:00-05:00
Location: Mount Horeb Public Library

Schedule

Mon May 04 2026 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Mount Horeb Public Library | Mount Horeb, WI

In the summer of 2011, at a family gathering in the north woods of Wisconsin, a four-year-old named Simon―the only child of a couple from West Central Wisconsin―quietly made a bold statement. Donning oversized fairy wings, Simon’s attempt to dress as a girl stunned the extended family into silence. Four years later, Simon told their parents she was a girl and would be wearing a dress to her ninth birthday party. By thirteen, she had legally changed her name to Simone. From that point forward, the family began making regular trips to Madison to see an endocrinologist at the University of Wisconsin’s Pediatric and Adolescent Transgender Health (PATH) Clinic.
As Simone transitioned and entered adolescence, her father found himself grappling with increasingly complex questions: How could he fully support her without being consumed by worry for her safety? What should be done with family photos that captured a version of Simone that no longer existed? And how could he mourn the son he thought he had while wholeheartedly embracing the daughter he now loved?
Join us for what will be our final chapter meeting before our summer hiatus with author, teacher, and father Andrew Patrie. Patire will be joining us via Zoom. He will speak the first hour, with the second hour dedicated to confidential support and sharing. Email [email protected] to request a link to join us over Zoom.
This event is free and open to the public. The program is made possible by a grant from the Mt. Horeb Community Foundation and is not a library sponsored event.