Love & Resistance: LGBTQ Memoirs
After the riots at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, the LGBTQ civil rights movement went from a few dozen pioneering activists to a national movement that mobilized thousands. In 2019, The New York Public Library commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
And as we continue to look back at the legacy of Stonewall, we wanted to recognize some LGBTQ writers talking about their own experiences, in their own words.
To learn more about the riots specifically, and the history of LGBTQ activism in general, check out the core reading list from the Library’s collections. You can also find amazing archival photographs by Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies and more in our Digital Collections, plus a specialized Stonewall 50 research guide and extensive electronic resources for a deeper dive into our archives.
Sweet Tooth: A Memoir
by Tim Anderson
A self-deprecating memoir recalling first crushes and coming out.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel
A graphic novel memoir and darkly funny family portrait.
Fire Shut Up in My Bones
by Charles M. Blow
A moving and disturbing story of abuse suffered at the hands of a close family relative.
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders
by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Credited with being the first best-selling work by a transgender American author, this memoir traces Boylan's life and transition.
Boy Erased: A Memoir
by Garrard Conley
A survivor of a facility that provided “sexual orientation conversion therapy” tells his story.
Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded
by Hannah Hart
Funny and candid essays from a YouTube personality.
Zami, a New Spelling of My Name
by Audre Lorde
Also called a "biomythography," this genre-defying work is technically a novel. But it's also considered the life story of Lorde, an African-American poet known for her activism and literary power.
by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
A queer, disabled, woman of color, poet, and abuse survivor tells her own story.
The Gilded Razor
by Sam Lansky
A sardonic coming-of-age story.
Redefining Realness
by Janet Mock
A journalist and activist shares perspectives on being multiracial, poor, and transgender in America.
I'm Just a Person
by Tig Notaro
The comedian and actress traces a tragic year in her life that included her mother’s death, a devastating breakup, a a diagnosis of breast cancer.
And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality
by Mark Segal
Read about Stonewall from someone who was there: Segal moved to New York just in time to participate in the movement, and began a long and storied career as an activist during the riots.
Teaching the Cat to Sit: A Memoir
by Michelle Theall
A memoir that traces the author’s experiences as a gay Catholic growing up in Texas.
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
by Jeanette Winterson
The story of an adopted daughter with strict religious parents, raised in a north England industrial town.
Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.
Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!