New (and Newish) Memoirs by Transgender Authors to Discover
These personal stories—often interwoven with politics and activism—by transgender authors speak to the universal desire to be known and understood, and to be accepted for your authentic self. They are stories of love and courage, of blazing trails and lighting the way for others, of defining yourself in the glare of the public eye, of growing up and growing into yourself. They are stories of transition, but more so of life.
The Risk It Takes To Bloom: On Life and Liberation
by Raquel Willis
One of the most formidable Black trans activists in history, in this passionate and powerful memoir, recounts the possibility of transformation after tragedy, and how complex moments can push us all to take necessary risks and bloom toward collective liberation.
(To be released 11/14, but you can put a hold on the title now.)
In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life
by Amy Schneider
Armed with boundless curiosity and fearless questioning, the most successful woman ever to compete on Jeopardy! shares how she won an even greater prize—the joy of being herself on national television and blazing a trail for openly queer and transgender people around the world.
Pageboy
by Elliot Page
The Oscar-nominated star who, after the success of Juno, became one of the world’s most beloved actors, reveals how his career turned into a nightmare as he navigated criticism and abuse in Hollywood until he had enough and stepped into who he truly is with defiance, strength, and joy.
Horse Barbie
by Geena Rocero
The memoir of a trans pageant queen from the Philippines who went back into the closet to model in New York City and later found self-acceptance by embracing her true self.
Love and Money, Sex and Death: A Memoir
by McKenzie Wark
Told through a series of letters to her childhood self, her mother, sister and past lovers, this reflection on transition, trans politics and culture, motherhood and memory follows the author’s coming out as a trans woman in midlife, which recasts her relation to the world.
A Trans Man Walks into a Gay Bar: A Journey of Self (and Sexual) Discovery
by Harry Nicholas
This unflinchingly honest memoir shines new light on the complex intersections of gender identity, sexuality, sex and queerness. Join Harry on his personal journey amongst the fraught and contradictory worlds of contemporary gay culture and re-examine the unique patterns of your own queerness along the way.
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir
by Akwaeke Emezi
Through candid, intimate correspondence with friends, lovers, and family, Emezi traces the unfolding of a self and the unforgettable journey of a creative spirit stepping into power in the human world. Their story weaves through transformative decisions about their gender and body, their precipitous path to success as a writer, and the turmoil of relationships on an emotional, romantic, and spiritual plane, culminating in a book that is as tender as it is brutal.
Maeve Rising: Coming Out Trans in Corporate America
by Maeve Duvally
In this intimate and unflinchingly honest memoir, Maeve Duvally tells the story of being herself in all aspects of her life, including work, the last threshold. She faced the special challenge of working as a manager of public relations for Goldman Sachs and therefore was a public face of the company. She knew she couldn’t transition quietly.
The Third Person
by Emma Grove
In the winter of 2004, a shy woman named Emma sits in Toby's office. Emma is transgender, and has sought out Toby for approval for hormone replacement therapy. Emma has shown up at the therapy sessions as an outgoing, confident young woman named Katina, and a depressed, submissive workaholic named Ed. As Toby juggles treating three separate people, each with their own unique personalities and memories, he begins to wonder if Emma is merely acting out to get attention, or if she actually has Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Miss Major Speaks: Conversations With a Black Trans Revolutionary
by Toshio Meronek and Miss Major
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a transgender elder and activist who survived Bellevue psychiatric hospital, New York's jail system, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. In this brilliant and moving conversation with Toshio Meronek, she presents a remarkable life and a road map for those navigating the challenges Black, brown, queer and trans youth face.
Burn the Page: A True Story of Torching Doubts, Blazing Trails, and Igniting Change
by Danica Roem
The first openly trans person elected to a U.S. state legislature (and unseating Virginia's most notoriously anti-LGBTQ 26-year incumbent) discusses her lonely and closeted childhood and how she re-wrote her own future by deciding to run for office.
I Have Always Been Me
by Precious Brady-Davis
Trans woman Precious Brady-Davis recalls her childhood growing up in the Omaha foster care system and Pentecostal faith as a biracial, gender non-conforming child.
This Body I Wore
by Diana Goetsch
Chronicles one woman’s long journey to coming out, a path that runs parallel to the emergence of the trans community over the past several decades, in this full account of trans life, one both unusually public and closeted.
Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more