Just Ash

Written by Sol Santana

Narrated by Avi Roque

Ashley "Ash" Bishop has always known who he is: a guy who loves soccer, has a crush on his friend Michelle, and is fascinated by the gruesome history of his hometown?Salem, Massachusetts. He's also always known that he's intersex, born with both male and female genitalia. But it's never felt like a big deal until his junior year of high school, when Ash gets his first period in front of the entire boys' soccer team. Now his friends and teachers see him differently, and his own mother thinks he should "try being a girl."

As tensions mount with his parents and Ash feels more and more like an outcast, he can't help feeling a deeper kinship with his ancestor Bridget Bishop, who was executed for witchcraft. She didn't conform to her community's expectations either; she was different, and her neighbors felt threatened by her. And she paid the ultimate price. Ash is haunted by her last recorded words: You will keep silent.

Ash realizes that he needs to find a way to stand up for who he really is, or the cost of his silence might destroy his life, too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705046661

Sol Santana

Intersex author Sol Santana became one of only a handful of women to make the rank of Eagle Scout before being shunned by President Trump in 2017. She later turned in her badge. Her writing has received commendations from President Obama and NYS Assemblyman William Colton. She is studying to be a preschool teacher.

Reviews for Just Ash

[sennebec · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This felt at times like I was reading one of the investigative reports on USA Today, giving me cringe-feel after cringe-feel while alternating between 'this can't really be' and 'how can we treat other people this way'. Ash is intersex, but has always identified as male. He's got friends including Michelle who is black and a ballet dancer. She's the only person who really understands him. His older sister is lesbian and moved from their home in Salem, MA to Boston when her parents couldn't accept her having a girlfriend. When Ash has his first period during high school soccer practice, it's as if the sun started coming up in the west. Despite the shock, he's still the same person inside, but then the dark ball of misfortune begins rolling downhill. His parents want him to start being a girl, his friends, except for Michelle treat him differently, even aggressively, no one in a position of authority comes to his defense, and things just get worse by the day. I'd go into greater detail, but that would give too much away. His parents are a toxic train wreck, his sister, her girlfriend, Michelle, and a teacher at his new school are all solid gems and what Ash learns about himself, his family secrets and the intersex community in Boston are great integral parts of the story. This is a book that exemplifies the old adage 'desperate times call for desperate measures'- a perfect description for how Ash survives everything. This deserves a place in most school and public libraries because it deals with a part of humanity most know little about and does so via a gripping narrative.