Cris Beam is an American writer. She is the author of nonfiction books on transgender teenagers, the U.S. foster system, and empathy, as well as a young adult novel and a short memoir.

Life

Beam was a volunteer teacher at EAGLES Academy for two and a half years, a former public high school for LGBT students in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She has an adoptive daughter.

Books

''Transparent''

In 2007, Beam published ''Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers''. The non-fiction book describes four

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

teenage girls; ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said, "With sensitivity and a deep connection to the girls, Beam describes their struggles with transitioning and how they reconcile them with more familiar teenage concerns like crushes and cliques." Beam, a journalist from New York City, began the book after moving to Los Angeles where her partner was in graduate school and Beam began volunteering at a high school for gay and trans teenagers. ''Transparent'' won the 2008 Transgender

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

and the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table named it a Stonewall Honor Book for Nonfiction for 2008.

''I Am J''

In 2011, Beam published '' I Am J'', a young adult novel which was named a finalist for the 2012

Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction The Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, that awards books with transgender content. Awards are granted based on literary merit and transgender content, and the ...

''To the End of June''

In 2013, Beam published ''To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American

Foster Care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

''. In the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', Robin Erb called ''To the End of June'' a "a challenging and refreshing read" thanks to Beam's intention, in Beam's words, to make the book "be more descriptive than prescriptive, placing the ''why'' above the ''what next''" mphasis in the originalin her account of the system's problems. In ''The New York Times'',

Benoit Denizet-Lewis Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a writer with ''The New York Times Magazine'', a ''New York Times'' best-selling author, and a tenured professor of writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College. Background A citizen of both France and the Unit ...

says, "Beam’s book is most gripping when she hangs out with foster children themselves. Just as she did in 'Transparent,' her excellent book about transgender teenagers in Los Angeles, Beam writes about social outcasts without stereotyping them. She gives them a much-needed voice and does what too many adults in the foster-care system can’t, or won’t: she advocates for them." But Denizet-Lewis also notes Beam's reporting suggests this advocacy "can provide only so much hope in a system that no one — 'not the kids, not the foster or

biological parent Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

s, not the

social workers Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, the administrators, the politicians, the policy experts' — thinks is working."

''I Feel You''

In 2018, Beam published the nonfiction book ''I Feel You: The Surprising Power of Extreme Empathy''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beam, Cris Living people American LGBTQ writers American women non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers