'Dear Noah: Pages from a Family Diary' Is a 'Love Letter' to Trans Teenagers and Texas Families Fighting for Equality

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: NBC News NOW

The family of atransgenderboy is opening up about how painful it is to live in the state of Texas and its heated political climate.

NBC OUT’s new documentaryDear Noah: Pages from a Family Diarytells the story of 16-year-old Noah and his family as they try to take care of one another while battling against bigotry andTexas' anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Noah’s mom Katie Laird tells PEOPLE that it was difficult to choose to expose their family so publicly. “It started with me making the very big and honestly scary decision to be very vocal and to have my face out there in the media just because of how upset and honestly how angry I am about what’s going on politically and how kids and families are being hurt,” she says.

Laird, 40, says her family was approached to be in the documentary and decided “to be brave and bold and be out there because we are not ashamed.”

However, for safety reasons, the family agreed to do the documentary only if Noah’s face was hidden.

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“He’s a young man, he is a minor and we were living in Texas, the state where we really had some very real fears of physical danger in a community that was feeling increasingly divisive and vocal against a very, very delicate and at-risk group like trans kids, like Noah,” says Laird, a social impact consultant.

Describing the documentary as “a love narrative — it’s a love letter to Noah and his beautiful life,” Laird says it gives an up-close look at life with a transgender teen. “You get who Noah is, you see his mannerisms, you see his beautiful, thoughtful eyes, you see how he moves around in the world.”

And while the film focuses mostly on their specific family, Laird wants viewers to know it represents a broader group. “Even though you’re only seeing one family on camera, the way that our family survives is through the efforts and the love and the support of many, many other families and many kids and adults just like Noah,” she explains.

Laird also opened up about what it was like for her when Noahcame out as transgender, calling it a “complicated journey.”

Now that Laird has a “deeper insight” into Noah, she is excited to support her son however she can. “I really experience so much joy whenever we’re going to doctors or we’re doing research or we’re going to film screenings or going to community events and rallies because I get to be a part of the story of Noah, really being able to live out loud for the first time, really being able to just go so deep into who he is and just spring back up better and happier and more incredible than ever,” Laird tells PEOPLE. She adds, “It is such an honor to be able to be a part of the journey of someone so genuine, so caring, and just so self-aware. There’s just so much joy in being a mom of a trans kid.”

As seen in the documentary, the family decides to uproot their lives and move to Denver, Colorado, for Noah’s safety. Laird references that decision as “the most difficult thing we have ever done and ever will do, probably,” but she has no regrets. “All we want is for him to just be able to live his life to the fullest with access to the best practices, medical care and to people that can see him and love him for exactly who he is,” she says. “It was gut-wrenching but we made the right call.”

The second group of viewers, she says, is made up of people who are still uncertain about trans individuals. “I hope they can see beyond the headlines and they’ll see into our hearts, into our home and be able to make more informed voting decisions, be able to have a greater sense of empathy whenever they encounter trans people,” Laird says.

She adds, “We want to take care of each other, we want to make sure that those who are the most at risk and the most marginalized have a safe way to be themselves and to contribute to the world around them… Everybody should want to support and take care and that should be the end of the story.”

Dear Noah: Pages from a Family Diary' airs Friday. Nov. 18 at 10:30pm ET on NBC News NOW and will also be available to stream on Peacock.

source: people.com