I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir

by Jennifer Finney Boylan (Goodreads author!)
I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir  
published 2008 by Broadway
binding Hardcover
isbn 0767921747   (isbn13: 9780767921749)
pages 304
description

From the bestselling author of She’s Not There comes another buoyant, unforgettable memoir—I’m Looking Through You is about growing up in a haunted house...and making peace with the ghosts that dwell in our hearts.

For Jennifer Boylan, creaking stairs, fleeting images in the mirror, and the remote whisper of human voices were everyday events in the Pennsylvania house in which she grew up in the 1970s. But these weren’t the only specters beneath the roof of the mansion known as the “Coffin House.” Jenny herself—born James—lived in a haunted body, and both her mysterious, diffident father and her wild, unpredictable sister would soon become ghosts to Jenny as well.

I’m Looking Through You is an engagingly candid investigation of what it means to be “haunted.” Looking back on the spirits who invaded her family home, Boylan launches a full investigation with the help of a group of earnest, if questionable, ghostbusters. Boylan also examines the ways we find connections between the people we once were and the people we become. With wit and eloquence, Boylan shows us how love, forgiveness, and humor help us find peace—with our ghosts, with our loved ones, and with the uncanny boundaries, real and imagined, between men and women.

...more
date added
05-28-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 241)



Imogen
Imogen rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/09/08

Read in February, 2008
Look, I don't give books three stars. I'm just torn toward four and I'm torn toward two. Anyway, I just copied this from a thread I started on a messageboard, if the tone seems weird and it seems really long.

**


Fuckin Jenny Boylan, man. This is her new book: I'm Looking Through You. I wish I could remember more about her last one, She's Not There, because she is becoming the biggest Oprah-approved voice of trans women in the world and it'd be nice to track her progress. But I read She'...more
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Kristen
Kristen rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/30/08

Read in April, 2008
There are many things to admire in Boylan’s latest memoir. Certainly her prose conveys consistently her quirky and entertaining personality and ironic sense of humor, while the sheer extraordinariness of her story, both with its ghosts and her life-long journey to become Jenny after living over 40 years as James, offers much to captivate a reader’s attention. However, what I found most impressive was the structure of the book. It is a brilliantly framed memoir with all of the themes centr...more
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Lindsey
Lindsey rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/11/08

I wasn't expecting to really like this book since I haven't read a lot of well-written memoirs, but Jenny comes off as so witty and down to earth it was refreshing. Given the challenges Jenny faced growing up, and I in no way mean to minimize them, I found myself thinking does this person realize how lucky she is? What great family and friends. But every time I was asking myself those questions, Jenny addressed them, by one of her friends telling her something similar. It was also nice to see th...more
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Hope
Hope added it
03/10/08

Read in March, 2008
This a fascinating memoir about an adult woman looking back on her transgendered childhood and adolescence, his/her family, and the ghosts in his/her childhood home - both extrasensory and emotional. I am not sure which is more interesting: the fact that the author grew up in a haunted house, or the fact that the author finally decided to have a sex change in order to be true to her self. In any case, it is very readable book, for the most part. By the end, I was a little tired of the switchi...more
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Amy
Amy rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/19/08

Read in March, 2008
I was really taken with this one after some initial hesitation--a little indulgent over-writing early on almost scared me off. I kept looking forward to getting back to it and found the author's voice really appealing. Her treatment of the ghost/haunted house she grew up in felt right, too. I was willing to suspend my disbelief since she showed a little cynicism herself.

I didn't realize the author of this memoir was transgendered when I started it...and I ended up surprised by how that unus...more
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Dreolin
Dreolin rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/10/08

Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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John
John rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/02/08

bookshelves: lgbt
Read in February, 2008
I'd been wondering how Boylan could fit her trans-sexual background, along with the story of growing up in a haunted house, under a single premise, but it actually works well. Her being "banished" up to the haunted attic as a teen when the family moves in, rather than being encouraged to take the available bedroom on the second floor where her folks and sister slept, gave the book a rather sad start, but she got through that okay, without being traumatized.
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Robinvk
Robinvk rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/29/08

Read in February, 2008
I'm so glad to have discovered this author. I love her voice and perspective -- she is good company. I did find the structure of this book a little forced. The metaphor of being a ghost (the woman waiting to emerge from the wrong gender she was born into) and living with ghosts in her family home is never completely fleshed out... so to speak. Both of these stories are fascinating, however, on their own merits. Strongly recommended.
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Kari
Kari rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
01/24/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 2008
This is the first book I've read by Boylan. based in the title, I expected the book to be largely about the author's experience growing up in a haunted house. While there are some scenes detailing such encounters, the book is mostly about the author's experience growing up with gender identity issues. I felt a little misled, but I still enjoyed the book. It's a quick read and I like Boylan's writing style.
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Nell
Nell rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/21/08

Read in March, 2008
Boylan's childhood home, with its power failures and ghostly presences, seems the perfect place for her (then, his) insistently present but unmanifested feminine self. I don't much believe in ghosts, but Boylan makes them seem real. Everyone's life is as much a story of the undeveloped parts and the roads not taken as of the paths followed; Boylan's is more dramatic than most.
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Judith
Judith rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/25/08

bookshelves: haunting, memoir, quick-read
Read in April, 2008
recommended to Judith by: Otis
recommends it for: Gina
Boylan is talented and insightful, but not completely transparent. I wanted to feel more of the hurt she felt by not being there. I think there's a whole book inside her waiting to emerge when she is accepted by her sister, as a sister. Funny how we're all not quite seen as we really are or even how we picture ourselves to be...in the past or in the present.
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Moose
Moose rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
02/21/08

Read in February, 2008
Well written memoir that did not focus on the transgendered fact but rather on the haunted house in Phila where the author grew up. The author was also haunted w/ her self but again, it is not the main focus of the book. I was intrigued by her and am interested in knowing more about her sex change. I may read her previous book for that.
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V
V rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
02/02/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2008
recommends it for: transgendered persons, and those trying to understand them.
While the book is easy to read, and rather entertaining at times, it starts off grabbing your attention but ends up "Omg is this over yet". Its not about actual ghosts or haunted houses, but about herself being haunted. You start to get the point about 2/3 through the book, the rest is just pounding it in.
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Sonja
Sonja rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/28/08

bookshelves: bookclub
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for: open-minded people and people who like memoirs.
At first glance, you think that this book is a memoir of someone growing up in a haunted house. But it's really about a fascinating human being who deals with gender identity issues. She grows up a boy, but feels like a disembodied girl. She eventually becomes transgendered. Fascinating story.
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Ginnie
Ginnie marked it as to-read
01/21/08

bookshelves: memoirs, to-read, women
Earlier memoir She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders
Oct. 31, 2007 Op-Ed article in the NYT, The Ghosts of Halloweens Past - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10...

http://www.jenniferboylan.net/

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Melissa
Melissa rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
04/25/08

Read in April, 2008
I liked this book but found it a little uneven. There were times where I thought "why is she telling me this?" But it did make me laugh out loud a few times and I find her fascinating. Definitely going to read her first memoir!
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Sheryl
Sheryl rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/31/08

Read in March, 2008
I read this book because of the paranormal angle, but that turned out to be the least important part. I loved the prose, the stories about Boylan's family, and the human "haunting" that exists throughout.
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Nancy
Nancy rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/26/08

bookshelves: biography, march-2008, transgender-books
Read in March, 2008
Boylan is a entertaining writer of both fiction and memoir, and this meandering book keeps the reader's interest particularly through her skill, as she covers incidents from childhood and adulthood.
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Kathleen
Kathleen marked it as to-read
10/31/07

bookshelves: to-read
The author wrote this essay for the 10/31/2007 NY Times and it made me want to read the book.
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Mindy
Mindy rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
04/01/08

Read in March, 2008
I enjoyed the continuation of Jennifer's story started in She's Not There. I like her wit and story telling. More information to help one understand transgendered individuals.
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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.71 (70 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.71 (70 ratings)
number of reviews: 30






other editions

I'm Looking Through You (Library Edition): Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir
I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir (Audio CD)