The Early Morning Rain by Jennifer Finney Boylan

The Early Morning Rain Summary

In the essay, “The Early Morning Rain” by Jennifer Finney Boylan, the narrator and author empowers the reader through vivid examples and descriptive word choice. Boylan explains how she went and got through the beginning of her transition from a male to a female.

The story starts off with a young boy who is full of denial and confusion. The then young boy, has always believed that he was born into the wrong body. At first the boy does not know how to go about his situation and uses denial as a way out. Boylan open ups her narrative essay by stating, “when i was young there was a time when I figured, the hell with it. I’d never even said the word transgender outloud. I couldn’t imagine saying it, ever. I mean please”. This quote proves the assumption of how full of denial Boylan was in at first. The context and sentence structure conveys the message perfectly. The story then jumps into a stage of depression and sadness. Faced with many overwhelming questions, Boylan starts driving up north and eventually makes her way to Nova Scotia. “I drove onto the SS Bluenose and stood on the deck and watched America drift away behind me, which as far as i was concerned was just fine.” Instead of facing her problems, Boylan runs from them which causes sadness and heartache. Boylan continues driving up north, until she reaches the town of Cape Breton. With the sadness, grief, and heartache of her problems piling up, the narrator contemplates suicide. Boylan climbs up a mountain at the northern edge of Cape Breton Island. She empowers the reader with extremely good vivid and concise dialogue. “ I stood right at the edge. My heart pounded.” She test her life by leaning into the fierce winds that kept blowing in. She finally comes to the agreement that she will take her life. Before leaning out over the ledge, a huge gust of wind blows her back onto the mossy