Raising My Rainbow - Lori Duron

Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son

by Lori Duron

I think I have been putting off writing this post because I don't know how I can do justice to Lori and C.J. and all the other people in this book and the people not in this book and...see I'm already starting to ramble.

Lori is a fierce mom who not only stands up for both her boys but has made it her mission to make sure she is doing the best she can for her gender creative younger son. She attempts to become an expert and it all started with a barbie. So C.J. wanted a barbie, was that okay? Should she let him have it? Would it harm him to say no? What about to say yes? She talked to her husband, her brother, a therapist.

"I finally gave up and shook my head in disapproval at myself because I was a mother who had her son evaluated by a doctor because he liked the color pink more than the color blue."
pg. 25

Every time I picked up the book I cried at least once and laughed at least twice. There is so much emotion and truth to Lori's story, because it is Lori's story. Yes, she is telling C.J.'s story but it's not just about him. It's about her fears and doubts when she makes decisions for her children. She is telling the story of parenting, she just has an extra layer on top and it happens to be covered in glitter. She is also telling the story of her older son Chase, who was bullied so severely that he stated "I want to kill myself so that all the fear and anxiety leaves my body. Then I want to be alive again."

The book will break your heart but it will also heal it because Lori never stops fighting. The book started because of her blog and on her blog she is still sharing her fight. Just last week she shared her struggle at a PTA meeting and the backlash she dealt with afterwards.

She does her best; she makes mistakes. It's not always pretty (although it is usually funny). On of my favorite moments was when she told C.J. he couldn't buy princess underwear because there wouldn't be room for his wiener and balls and it might hurt them. And they stared at each other. I don't know why the stare got to me but I could picture the moment and it cracked me up. And then this happened...

"I turned to see where Chase had wandered off to when I heard...
'Mommy, will these hurt my wiener and balls?!'
I turned to look. C.J. was standing about six feet away from me, in plain view of the entire line, and holding up a package of Little Mermaid underwear.
Chase returned to my side quickly, mortified.
I waved C.J. over because I couldn't think of anything else to do. I waved him over more quickly. He interpreted my wave to mean I can't hear you. Say it louder.'I SAID, WILL THESE HURT MY WIENER AND BALLS?!' He enunciated perfectly and yelled loudly."
pg. 138

This book rocked my world, and it's not just me. On vacation recently, I handed the book to my friend, opened to the princess underwear section and told her to read. She didn't want to give the book back. She kept it so long, she passed my bookmark and I had to threaten her with pain and suffering if she spoiled anything for me as if it were a mystery I was going to solve. I decided to let her hold onto it for the flight because I knew the moment I tried to read it I would be the crazy person crying in seat 17B.

I highly encourage you to not only read this book but check out Lori's website.
raisingmyrainbow.com
or follow her on twitter: @RaisingRainbow

**Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.