Overall thoughts on the book:
I listened to the audiobook. I always like to listen to memoirs that are read by the author. I’d recommend the audiobook. Cactus Country is the story of someone who was born female but who always felt like a boy. I’m going to use them/them when referring to Zoë. Towards the end of the book they say that they identify as being gender fluid, so I don’t know if Zoë will always be called they, but we’ll play it safe and go with “they”. Growing up, Zoë’s parents seemed supportive of their gender identity as a boy but their parents did struggle occasionally to refer to Zoë as he/him, which they preferred as a child. Zoë was born in Virginia but moved to cactus country outside of Tucson, Arizona, when they were young. This book tells the story of growing up as a boy in a very gritty and masculine environment and the struggle of growing into a feminine body.
More details on the book and lots of spoilers:
As someone who has spent very little time in the desert, I learned a lot about how life worked/works there and how rough of a place it could be to grow up. The weather conditions and wildlife are harsh to say the least.
There are bugs that Zoë remembers senselessly killing. And having this aggressiveness be accepted and encouraged for little boys in the desert. It was seen as something that would make them more masculine and therefore more valuable to society. Which is weird to think about, the idea that being aggressive is what is valuable.
Zoë talks about how strange it was to grow into a female body and having people treat them as female after having had a male upbringing. A lot of things that were encouraged when they were a boy are not encouraged now that they sometimes present as a girl.
Zoë also talks about wild javelina in the desert and how scary they were. About the myths that the children (and sometimes adults) would come up with about javelina attacks.
After high school, Zoë goes to college and grad school. Their life changes pretty substantially from moving into a larger city to having friends with grown up problems.
Zoë has lived such an interesting life. I enjoyed getting to read about it.
Final thoughts:
This book shows a side of life that I have not experienced. That’s my favorite thing about memoirs, the fact that you can learn about a different way of life. I grew up in a relatively populated place with trees and humidity, so childhood, especially boyhood, in the desert is a completely foreign concept. I also had a girlhood, not a boyhood so learning about boyhood experiences from someone who was born female and has at times identified as female, was such a compelling concept. I love books that teach you about different lives.
Bayous and Books 