Johnson is born and a relative declares the baby a girl, then immediately corrects herself after inspecting the baby's genitals.

A fight between Johnson's cousins and a group of neighborhood boys results in Johnson's front teeth being shattered.

Johnson discovers their legal first name is George rather than Matthew and experiences an identity crisis about their 'real' name.

Johnson coins the slang term 'honeychild' among their girl friends, and the school administration forces them to stop using it.

Johnson joins football games to counter harassment from boys who mock their jump rope playing, and discovers a love of running track.

On a family vacation, Nanny buys Johnson cowboy boots while all of Johnson's cousins choose the popular Cross Colours sneakers.

Cousins Rall and Rasul push Johnson into the deep end of a pool without warning and spend the evening teaching them to swim.

Nanny notices Johnson's growing self-isolation and takes them under her wing, becoming their closest confidant and best friend.

Transgender cousin Hope comes out at a family gathering, becoming Johnson's only real queer role model growing up.

Cousin Thomas sexually abuses Johnson on Christmas night in what becomes Johnson's first queer experience.

A new student named Zamis appears on Johnson's school bus; Johnson develops a crush but both deny being gay to each other.

Johnson is accepted to Virginia Union University, an HBCU, and arrives on campus hoping to finally live openly as gay.

Johnson receives a mysterious phone call from a man named Charles, who reveals they are both fraternity line brothers for Alpha Phi Alpha.

All nine line brothers formally join Alpha Phi Alpha in a ceremony attended by Johnson's entire family.

Johnson learns that line brother Kenny died; the remaining line brothers travel to his hometown and carry his casket together.

This pool covers the most headline-level events of Johnson's memoir, from their birth in Plainfield, New Jersey to the death of line brother Kenny in college. Johnson's childhood is marked by pivotal turning points: having their teeth shattered in a fight, discovering their true first name, and expressing queer identity through slang and cowboy boots chosen over popular sneakers. Family relationships — especially with Nanny — and the trauma of sexual abuse by cousin Thomas shape Johnson's complicated adolescence. A closeted high school friendship with Zamis and a failed attempt to live openly at a historically Black university illustrate the long struggle toward self-acceptance. The memoir reaches its emotional peak when Johnson finally finds community in Alpha Phi Alpha, only to lose beloved line brother Kenny far too soon.

The core journey from birth to a line brother's death.

Johnson attends an elementary school with all-white teachers who provide an inaccurate and overly flattering view of American history.

Johnson transfers to a junior high with a predominantly Black administration, where they learn a fuller and more accurate American history.

Johnson writes a heartfelt letter to younger brother Garrett, celebrating his unconditional acceptance of Johnson's full identity.

Johnson learns that their father's gay son from a previous marriage, G.G., is estranged from the family because of anti-gay bias.

Johnson's strained relationship with their father improves significantly when the father watches Johnson excel at sports.

Johnson watches cousin Hope and her friend Cookie transition over the years and admires them deeply as queer role models.

Hope wastes away from an unnamed illness and dies young; Johnson holds her up as an inspiration and a reason to fight for trans rights.

Johnson's mother undergoes high-risk brain surgery; Johnson must care for and feed her throughout the recovery period.

A schoolmate named Evan inappropriately touches Johnson in a school bathroom, compounding Johnson's growing anxiety around intimacy.

Cousin Thomas is killed in an anti-gay hate crime, deepening Johnson's understanding of the violence queer people face.

Johnson loses contact with Zamis after high school graduation and reunites with him by chance at a gay club during a Pride event.

Johnson befriends a man named Lawrence from Alpha Phi Alpha after watching an elaborate sorority-joining spectacle on campus.

An older Alpha Phi Alpha brother calls Johnson the f-word over the phone; Johnson's line brothers overhear and immediately comfort them.

Johnson has their first voluntary sexual encounters as an adult in college and proudly calls a line brother afterward to share the news.

Johnson delivers a speech at Kenny's memorial as Alpha Phi Alpha chapter president but is overcome by grief midway through.

This pool highlights the significant secondary events that enrich the memoir's portrait of Johnson's family and social world. Events range from Johnson's racially skewed education in elementary school to the death of transgender cousin Hope and the emotional weight of their mother's high-risk brain surgery. Johnson's relationships with their father, brother Garrett, and the Alpha Phi Alpha line brothers reveal the complex web of love and acceptance woven through their life. Sexual trauma inflicted by schoolmate Evan and the hate-crime killing of cousin Thomas illustrate the specific dangers queer people face. The pool concludes with Johnson's fraternity experiences, a reunion with Zamis at a gay club, and the tribute paid to line brother Kenny after his sudden death.

Significant family and friendship moments beyond the main arc.

Johnson plays jump rope with girls at recess; boys gossip and call Johnson anti-gay slurs, threatening Johnson's sense of safety.

Johnson's mother tells them they can freely choose between the names George and Matthew, giving Johnson their first real sense of identity agency.

Johnson's mother is called by the school to make Johnson stop using 'honeychild,' which Johnson experiences as an erasure of their queer identity.

During Black History Month at an all-white elementary school, Johnson sees themselves in American history for the very first time.

Johnson's father expects his elderly mother to cook and clean for him, revealing the rigid gender expectations on his side of the family.

Johnson feels too embarrassed to be seen in public with cousin Hope, despite Hope being their only queer role model.

Nanny tells Johnson 'You might have to wipe my ass one day,' leaving Johnson with a lifelong lesson about caring for loved ones.

Nanny develops brain cancer while Johnson is writing the memoir, prompting Johnson to revisit and expand her chapter with a new perspective.

Johnson experiences repeated microaggressions from white peers at a predominantly white high school, deepening their sense of alienation.

Johnson and Zamis chat over AOL Instant Messenger and both deny being gay, even though each secretly knows the other is.

Johnson falls into depression during their first semester of college, unable to come out despite having moved far from home.

Johnson struggles academically in their first semester and kicks a marijuana addiction, resolving to refocus on grades and fraternity membership.

Johnson begins to suspect that several of their line brothers are also secretly struggling with their own queer identities.

Joining Alpha Phi Alpha convinces Johnson that manhood is not one-size-fits-all, giving them the confidence to finally come out as queer.

Johnson reflects in the Afterword that Kenny's sudden death at nineteen proves there is no unlimited time for authentic living.

This pool tracks the decisive turning points and internal revelations that define Johnson's growth from childhood to adulthood. Beginning with childhood moments of harassment and hard-won identity agency — including Johnson's mother granting freedom to choose their own name and the school erasing their use of 'honeychild' — the pool follows Johnson through formative realizations about queerness, family expectations, and self-isolation. The embarrassment Johnson feels around cousin Hope and the lesson Nanny imparts about caring for loved ones both leave permanent marks. Johnson's inability to live openly in college, compounded by depression and academic struggles, sets the stage for transformation through Alpha Phi Alpha. The pool closes with Johnson's recognition that Kenny's sudden death is the ultimate reminder that authentic living cannot be indefinitely postponed.