Kristin K. Collier

On Sunday, November 20, 12-2 pm, Tsunami Books will host a book release celebration for Kristin K. Collier of Eugene, author of the memoir Housewife: Home-remaking in a Transgender Marriage. After high school graduation in Eureka, California, Collier's planned odyssey to New York to study theater took her only as far as Wyoming, where she met the son of a rancher. They got married and moved to Eugene, where she studied English and he majored in architecture at the UO. They both found work, in autism care and architectural design, respectively, and she gave birth to two sons, Trinidad and Sam, in 2000 and 2003. "Thirteen years ago, my husband told me he wanted to wear women's clothes," she relates. "It was shocking. And I thought I was open-minded." Her book chronicles his transformation from husband and father to Seda Collier, her transgender female parenting partner, and the changes it has brought to their family, in a series of episodic chapters, poems, and blog posts. Their household now includes Kristin's romantic partner Richard Bartlett, a chef who cooks for the family five days a week. "I wanted to share a story of how to deal with such a transition compassionately," says Collier, who spent seven years writing the book while working full-time as social group coordinator for Bridgeway House, serving autistic children. "I feel that the book relates to everyone. We all have transitions in our relationships and need to cultivate resilience." At 3 pm that same afternoon, Collier will be a keynote speaker at a Transgender Day of Remembrance event at the Hult Center, honoring those killed due to anti-transgender hatred.