But when I got to the entry that said, "I am a pre-op transsexual woman," I started to get angry. No, LeAnn, you are not a pre-op transsexual woman. You may have OD-ed on the foundation and lip gloss a few times to try and mask the awkward, gawky phase you were going through as a teenager (growing up in the public eye isn't fun for anyone), but that doesn't make you trans! And then I realized this book wasn't about LeAnn at all. These were all letters to LeAnn from people who were inspired by her song "What I Cannot Change." My anger quickly morphed into the kind of disappointment I usually feel only after seeing an Adam Sandler movie. As sad as the life I had constructed for LeAnn was, at least she seemed -- even for those two minutes -- intriguing. Fresh. Unpredictable. Like someone who wouldn't release a self-indulgent, borderline narcissitic self-help book.
So, in some strange way, LeAnn got what she wanted. I wrote about her cozy little book with its big, sloppy feelings oozing out all over my desk. But I promise it won't happen again. Because while there might be a lot of things that I cannot change, who and what I write about isn't one of them. Consider this your one and only freebie, LeAnn.
-- NOAH MICHELSON
Previously > School's Out 4-Ever
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