[1][6] Reed recalls feeling "just this friction" about her assigned gender and having an epiphany when, at the age of six or seven, she saw Renee Richards on television, and thought "whoa, that’s it".

[1][5] Reed earned a Bachelor of Arts from University of California at Berkeley[5] where she graduated magna cum laude.

[citation needed] Reed earned a Master of Arts in film production from San Francisco State University.

[10] Prodigal Sons is an autobiographical account of Reed's return home to Montana for her 20th high school reunion as a trans woman.

The project initially focused on her brother Marc's story and evolved into an exploration of family, sibling rivalry, coming out, and reconciling with the past.