Explaining that he was "born twice," first as a baby girl in 1960 and then as a teenage boy in 1974, Cal makes readers aware, in a lighthearted way, that he is a hermaphrodite. The story then starts in 1922, when his grandparents came to Detroit from war-torn Turkey. He relates his story as a female child growing up in suburban Detroit with typical adolescent worries ~ she hasn't developed breasts or started menstruating. Calliope’s facial hair is blamed on her ethnicity, and she and her mother get waxed together. Then an accident causes Callie to find out what she's been suspecting - she's not actually a girl. From this point on she becomes Cal, and it is Cal, the 41-year-old man, who narrates the story, dipping all the way back in history to the time of his grandparents' incestuous relationship in war-torn Turkey.

Visiting 9 of the "happiest" countries, Eric Weiner shares humorous as well as insightful observations. Some observations could be life-changing.