This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

This Is How It Always Is follows a family learning to navigate love, identity, and secrets. Rosie and Penn are raising five sons, the youngest of whom, Claude, declares at age five that he wants to be a girl. They support him wholeheartedly but hesitate to reveal this truth to the outside world. What begins as a private family matter grows into a shared secret that inevitably comes to light.

The novel explores the complexities of parenting, the challenges of change, and the courage required to embrace difference. It’s about transformation—of children, of families, of expectations—and about how secrets, no matter how well-intentioned, can’t stay hidden forever. At its heart, it’s a story of love, uncertainty, and the messy, miraculous process of growing together.