Mixed Feelings: When the author has a "past"

So I had a bit of a crisis of character while reading If I Was Your Girl. While looking for confirmation that this was an #ownvoices book (it is), I ran across a couple of news articles about the author. According to the articles,  (prior to transition I think) was accused of assaulting and abusing her wife at the time and there was a restraining order.

Now, here’s the thing.

I have never required actors, football players, singers, authors, whatever to be saints. Most of the time I avoid finding out about their real lives mostly because their lives have little or nothing to do with me. However, over the last several years I have been more aware of how people are able to use their celebrity to by-pass being held accountable because people hate for their shine to be tarnished. Typically, when we are talking about such celebrities we are talking about men but I don’t think it should be limited to men, do you? I also think that not everything that has ever happened in someone’s past should be a recurring theme in every conversation. But I also think about how hard it would be to have been assaulted and then see positive reviews for the book my abuser wrote.

I asked my Tweeps about it and it seems like something that others think about, too, sometimes. 

I still finished the book in the same way that I still sometimes listen to Chris Brown when he comes on the radio. I still read books by people I know are racist, sexist, and complete dumb- asses, at times. It’s up to me to grapple with the struggle of supporting an artist knowing that their personal life has some “issues.” But I do think it’s important that it not be a secret. And I don’t know what happened to the case, it could have been unfounded or whatever. I may go back and look it up, but I probably won’t. I’ll leave it to you to decide how important it is to you, as the reader. If you prefer to read a different book with transgender representation, here's a list from QuirkBooks, though I have no idea what their authors do in their "real lives." When the Moon Was Ours was also good, if you like a little fantasy mixed in. 

So anyway, the book: I really liked it. It’s the story of a trans-gendered girl post- transition who moves in with her estranged father after being assaulted. It’s told in a consistent time line of “now” and with snapshots from her past, pre- transition. I loved the back and forth and seeing how Amanda came to be the Amanda she is now. The characters and the story are straight- forward and things generally wrap up ok, though not necessarily in a neat bow.

I also appreciated that the Ms. Russo, in the author notes, acknowledges simplifying a complicated process to make the story more accessible/ digestible. I don't think all books should try to be all things to all people. Amanda purposely fits a number of stereotypes that not all transgendered people fit and the author reminds us to not take her story as the only way the process goes. She also provided contact information for anyone considering suicide, which is a topic in the book. It's a great inclusion because about half of transgendered people attempt suicide by the age of 20. I'm not making that up, the stats are staggering. Books like this are important. So, if you don't read this one, make sure to read a different one!

I'm interested to hear what other people think.