Challenge Corner discussion

A groundbreaking memoir about being a trans teen, in the vein of FUN HOME and FLAMER... and at the same time entirely its own.

Lewis has a few things to say to his younger teen self. He knows she hates her body. He knows she's confused about who to snog. He knows she's really a he and will ultimately realize this... but she's going to go through a whole lot of mess (some of it funny, some of it not funny at all) to get to that point. Lewis is trying to tell her this... but she's refusing to listen.

In WELCOME TO ST. HELL, author-illustrator Lewis Hancox takes readers on the hilarious, heartbreaking, and healing path he took to make it past trauma, confusion, hurt, and dubious fashion choices in order to become the man he was meant to be. It's a remarkable, groundbreaking graphic memoir from an unmistakably bold new voice in comics.

Just getting notifications set :)

Right, just starting now! :D I've got my computer open because otherwise I'll whiz through it without writing any comments lol.

Ooh, random first comment - page 22 (not a spoiler) - do you remember when Freddos were 10p? It makes me feel old ROFL

Pg 78 (view spoiler)[

I love the meta parts where Lewis talks to his mum and dad out of time, LOVE IT. And I get all the references - how to spell cool (kewl), being a 'fridge' (or frigid), skitted, townies etc ... Is all the slang and specific references alienating if you're not from the UK? Or was the slang across the pond the same pre mega internet days? Just wondering because it seems so specific to be 'my' era at school. (Born in 1991, and my sister (once brother) was born in 1989, so it's dead on!)

I'm not Trans but I remember the awful girl's changing rooms... I didn't wear a bra and I didn't shave under my arms and it felt like literal HELL. I'm not saying I understand, but I get the situation if that makes sense.

Poor Louis... although at least she knew quite early on that she wanted/felt like they were a boy whereas it took my sister a veee-ry long time to work stuff out and she (he) was just unhappy and bullied and 'didn't fit' for such a long time without any idea why. I'm surprised Lewis' mum even knew there was an operation back then; I doubt our family knew that much... (hide spoiler)]

Part 2 (view spoiler)[ Omg, secondary school (most places are called that rather than high school in the UK) was JUST like that. Seriously - down to the exact comments, and how the end of year prom was.

Wow, this book is... I dunno. It feels like a fictionalised version of me and my sister's lives sort of smooshed together. She was born male, and I got anorexia. Sorry for the TMI, but this is making me all emotional.

'What a missed opportunity that was' - yeah, same for me; except that my mum thought I had anorexia and I wasn't diagnosed. (I knew it deep down). All the while my sibling was getting overlooked because I was 'ill'. F*ck me.

(view spoiler)[Sorry Alaina, this is TMI. I'll keep it to the book but I feel like I need to type this out. Tamsin is... okay now. I mean, she's a she and has been with her girlfriend since she was 15 and they're onto stage 2 of adopting a kid! I mean, more than okay! She has her issues and everything, and I love her and I wish she didn't but it seems that she found a way 'out' like Lewis did. (Sex the other way round. This probs makes no sense). Not that it's that simple, I know that, I freaking do, I really do. But she is a woman as far as everyone is considered and that makes it a lot easier. She still sees a therapist every two weeks and I know that she struggles with depression and I wish she'd talk to me, but she's so far away, and she has Heather (her girlfriend) and her amazing group of Queer friends. And I AM happy for her. SO happy, her childhood was the absolute worse - worse than Lois'.
But I'm still 'ill' after 18 years and currently looking at 'trauma' (all the sh*t that happened while I was locked up in hospitals and the stuff they did to me) and simultaneously slowly realising (over the last 5 years or so) that I'm probably asexual and maybe that was where it started? (That seems waaaay too neat, I know things don't fit in boxes like that, that's the whole point of looking at the world the way we do now, right??? No binaries, no simple answers). But, IF asexuality is part of the causation, then shouldn't we be looking at that? I'm about to start an 18-month programme of trauma-related stuff, but that happened AFTER. And I want my sister's kid. But I probably won't be allowed to see her because I'm under a Court of Protection, Deprived of Liberty (annual review coming up, woohoo) and I think they're going to say I would be a bad influence on a potentially already damaged child (unfortunately, most kids up for adoption are damaged). So. I dunno.

God, I've made this all about me. Shuddup Ellen, not kewl, 4 reel. ur a rite loser. dunno wen 2 stop tlkin like. n ur still friggid @34!! looooooser (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

p. 219 (view spoiler)[ that 'map' is amazing. (hide spoiler)]

Omg, finished (view spoiler)[

Wow. That was SO REAL. And the thing about having to live as the opposite sex for a year before getting to the gender clinic still stands - dunno how it works in the US. And the mega long waiting lists (And tbh, the only one that really has enough space is the London one, so it's not all that much better.)

Also, reading this at a very timely point. I don't know how much you get UK news/politics in the US, but there's a law been passed literally FOUR days ago that '“woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer only to a biological woman and to biological sex.' No joke. There was a massive rally in London that my sister went to yesterday. (so proud of her; back in the day, NEITHER of us would've had the guts to go to London! Nothing to do with the content lol)

We still don't really know what the law is going to mean in the future but it was made by the Supreme Court (that's like Congress in the US, maybe?) and it looks bad. For people transitioning. People who are transitioned already are good, and it's okay for people who can 'pass' but not everyone can. WTF. We're going BACKWARDS. This is SO CURRENT; the book was published 3 years ago, and we're slipping back to Lew's childhood...

I don't know the situation in America, but I know it's bad too. Depends on which state you're in, right? But I know that 'gender reassignment' surgery started in the US, so there must be some good people out there...?

(The Doctor was dead on for practically all GPs in the UK btw.)

And Lewis (and my sister) aren't lucky to have accepting families; EVERYONE should be like that. Yeah, his mum had a hard time switching pronouns (so did my mum!) and Alison found it hard (I'm sure some of Tamsin's friends did too, but she did it much more gradually and didn't have the same friends all the way through... apart from her girlfriend/partner <3) but THEY TRIED. That's all we ask.

Wow, I'm crying. Sorry. I didn't realise how emotional this book would make me! It's just so... true. And sad. But the amazing bit is how real Lewis Hancox has made this. It's all there, it happens, it's happening like that.

I wonder what he's up to now?

Oh, and did you notice the HP reference? 'Isn't it all the weirdos who end up reading Harry Potter?' WHY IS THAT SO TRUE?? (I mean, before it got popular and the whole world are consuming it in one media form or another). What was it about HP that made people who didn't fit in feel okay, and WHY THE EFF does JKR have to behave like she does? She can have views, but it's like her stance on trans people has become her identity post Harry Potter.
I mean, maybe that's it. Maybe, she lost her identity because you can never write a series that changes the world like that again, and she latched onto something else. I don't know. It makes my relationship with HP very difficult (childhood obsessive).
(hide spoiler)]

Anyway, can't wait to see what you think! Particularly about the differences between the UK and the US... I hope to be pleasantly surprised but I'm not exactly holding my breath.

Enjoy the read <3

Starting this now :)

Up to pg. 13: (view spoiler)[It has been a while since I've read a graphic novel. So, I'm pretty excited for this one. (hide spoiler)]

Up to pg. 85 (view spoiler)[Oh man, I am really enjoying this book so far. It's very interesting that Louis/Lewis knew at a very young age that he wasn't a she. Sure, school can be literal hell for people. But at least his family seems supportive. More his mom at the moment, but there's definite hope for the dad. I also like how they get their moments and have comments about what is going on in the book. It's hilarious. (hide spoiler)]

Up to pg. 152: (view spoiler)[The mom really picks up on things. I wish they listened to her. (hide spoiler)]

Alaina wrote: "Up to pg. 152: [spoilers removed]"

Yes! (view spoiler)[ His mum is SO spot on, if only everyone else had listened... :( (hide spoiler)]

Up to pg. 228: (view spoiler)[I love that his parents always knew deep down. I also like that Allison's dad is also supportive. Wondering if she will come out to him in this book? (hide spoiler)]

Up to pg. 256: (view spoiler)[Oh, I love Marion! I'm also not a fan of that doctor but the psychologist seemed respectful and helpful. (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[OMG I love Gramps! It's crazy accurate to see people who go through this don't have great support systems or any at all. It's so sad. Especially in today's world. It's a scary place to try and be yourself and I hate it. I thought we were progressing in a positive way. Making things equal for all. Now, it seems like everyone wants to travel back in time to a place where everything went to shit.

All I can do is continue to educate myself so that I can be a better support system for anyone and everyone. (hide spoiler)]

I also lowkey cackled when he censored out his feet at one point in the book.

Alaina wrote: "Finished: OMG I love Gramps! It's crazy accurate to see people who go through this don't have great support systems or any at all. It's so sad. Especially in today's world. It's a scary place to tr..."

YES. We do seem to be going backwards, so the best we can do, SHOULD do, is educate ourselves and be supporters.

I also thought the feet thing was very funny!