I was an advocate for nontraditional families for two decades, including transgender parents, but when my daughter came out to me as my son, I was staggered. Even so, the fact of having given birth to a dwarf son had already shattered my expectations of creating something at least somewhat familiar in a family, despite being in a lesbian marriage. The gift of my dwarf son is that he prepared me to think even more like an outsider, which ultimately helped enormously with my son's transgenderism.
This is just a brief summary, and I can go into it more if you're interested.
To Andrew Solomon: Thank you for this poetically insightful book. I was blown away on page after page by the sensitivity and depth of your understanding.
April Martin