A random collection of over 1994 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
Original title: "La Vida de una transgenero: Sin Censura" (The Life of a Transgender: Uncensored) by Eliana Mejias Silva.
Eliana Mejías Silva’s La Vida de una Transgénero: Sin Censura is more than just a continuation of her earlier work; it is a declaration of love, survival, and self-discovery. Following the publication of La Vida de una Transgénero: Mis Luchas Personales Sin Censura in 2023, this new volume delves even deeper into the heart and soul of a woman who has learned to embrace every facet of her identity. It is a book written from within, born from both scars and healing, where every chapter feels like a conversation between the author and the little girl she once was, the one who always lived inside her and longed to be seen, loved, and protected.
Eliana invites readers to step into her shoes and walk beside her through the winding road of her life. She speaks to the child who, though seen by others as a boy, always recognized her reflection as that of a shy brown-skinned girl with delicate features, a gentle smile, and eyes filled with dreams. That little girl wore roses in her hair and shiny shoes that sparkled like stars under the full moon, a symbol of her hope and her unbreakable will to shine despite the darkness surrounding her. Through Eliana’s storytelling, the reader encounters not just a personal testimony, but a shared human experience about resilience, love, and transformation.
2024,
Eliana Mejias Silva,
Spanish,
Full title: "Trans Anthology Project: Reflections of Self-Discovery and Acceptance" by Heather H Kirby and Chrissy Boylan.
The Trans Anthology Project: Reflections of Self-Discovery and Acceptance, edited by Heather H. Kirby and Chrissy Boylan, is a remarkable book that brings together over two hundred firsthand accounts from transgender and nonbinary youth, as well as from parents striving to understand and support them. The book serves as both an anthology and a guide, blending deeply personal reflections with educational insight. It stands as a compassionate, courageous, and illuminating collection that not only documents diverse experiences of gender but also nurtures understanding and empathy in a world that continues to struggle with acceptance and inclusion.
The power of this anthology lies in its honesty. Each story, written in the authentic voice of its author, invites the reader into the deeply personal terrain of self-discovery. Some contributors speak of early childhood awareness, others of the long and winding path toward self-acceptance. The voices of parents reveal their own parallel journeys, often beginning in confusion or fear and evolving toward unconditional love and advocacy. These accounts remind readers that the process of understanding gender diversity is not a single moment of revelation but an ongoing dialogue between the self, family, and society.
2024,
Chrissy Boylan,
English,
Heather H Kirby,
Original title: "Finalmente io" (Finally me) by Sarah Jessica Zucca.
Finalmente io by Sarah Jessica Zucca is a deeply personal and moving work that brings to light the complex and often misunderstood subject of gender dysphoria. Through her own story, Sarah J invites readers to enter a world where identity and biology do not coincide, where the soul and the body speak two different languages, and where the journey toward alignment becomes both an act of courage and self-love. The author’s intention is not only to narrate her transformation but also to educate, to clear away the misconceptions that surround what she rightly describes as a medical condition present from birth.
Gender dysphoria, as Sarah explains, is not a whim or a phase. It is a condition in which a person finds themselves imprisoned in a body that does not reflect their true essence. A child may appear outwardly healthy, but within them lives a soul that does not correspond to the gender assigned at birth. For many, this incongruity is evident from the earliest years, expressed through gestures, preferences, and an unshakeable sense that something essential does not match. Although these cases are relatively rare, they carry profound implications for those who experience them.
2024,
Italian,
Italy,
Sarah Jessica Zucca,
Full title: "A Letter to Pawtone: From Barrio to Transgender Pioneer" by Arlina A.
A Letter to Pawtone: From Barrio to Transgender Pioneer by Arlina A. is an intimate, heartfelt autobiography that captures one woman’s extraordinary journey of self-discovery, courage, and transformation. Through diary entries that begin when she was just seven years old, Arlina chronicles a lifetime of experiences shaped by culture, faith, and the quiet but unshakable desire to live authentically. Born in 1934 in Phoenix, Arizona, to Mexican immigrant parents, she began life as Arnold, a child growing up in the Golden Gate Barrio. Her early years were marked by the warmth of a large family and the richness of cultural traditions that offered comfort amid the struggles of poverty and prejudice. The barrio was alive with music, laughter, and the sounds of a community that held together through love and faith. For young Arnold, those years were also a time of quiet confusion, as he sensed a profound difference between how the world saw him and who he knew himself to be.
The book captures this duality beautifully, drawing readers into the vivid world of postwar America through references to the movies, television shows, and music that filled Arlina’s youth. Popular culture became both an escape and an expression of hope, something she shared with her siblings and friends. Yet beneath the surface of everyday joys lay a deeper longing that no amount of playacting or pretense could suppress. Arlina describes how she preferred the company of girls and found solace in imagination, where she could explore her true self without fear or judgment. These reflections offer a window into the emotional complexity of growing up transgender in a time when such words were barely whispered.
"Degenerado" (Degenerate) is the Spanish language version of "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
Degenerado, the Spanish edition of Mauvais genre by Chloé Cruchaudet, stands as one of the most audacious and haunting graphic novels of the last decade. Based on true events, the book reconstructs the tragic and extraordinary story of Paul Grappe and Louise Landy, a working-class couple from Paris whose love, passion, and despair unfolded in the turbulent years surrounding the First World War. The novel begins as a love story: Paul and Louise meet, fall in love, and marry with youthful optimism. Yet when war breaks out, the brutal reality of the trenches shatters their lives. Paul, desperate to escape the nightmare of violence and filth, deserts the army and returns to Paris to reunite with Louise. Their reunion is tender but shadowed by danger. As a deserter, Paul must hide, and the couple’s life becomes one of claustrophobic secrecy, confined to a small hotel room where fear and monotony threaten to destroy their bond.
From this claustrophobic setting emerges the novel’s central transformation. One evening, Paul, longing for freedom and a taste of normal life, puts on one of Louise’s dresses to go out for wine. What begins as a disguise soon becomes a revelation. In his new identity as Suzanne, Paul discovers not only safety but also a strange liberation. Louise, initially amused and supportive, helps him refine his appearance and mannerisms. What starts as play becomes a way of life. Suzanne soon ventures into the world, finding work alongside Louise in a textile factory, where she becomes a source of curiosity and fascination. Cruchaudet portrays these scenes with delicate irony, capturing the humor and tenderness of a couple learning to navigate a reality that defies every social expectation. Through Suzanne’s eyes, Paul experiences the world anew, noticing how women move, talk, and endure constant scrutiny. The reader senses both his fascination and discomfort, as his performance of femininity blurs into genuine identification.
2014,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
Spanish,
Full title: "Brave: Story of a Trans Woman" by K. K.
In an era when the voices of transgender people are finally beginning to take their rightful place in mainstream literature, memoirs have become vital windows into the lived experiences of communities too often misrepresented or silenced. Among these narratives, Brave: Story of a Trans Woman by K. K. stands out as a striking testament to the power of truth-telling, resilience, and unapologetic authenticity.
At its core, Brave is more than a memoir; it is a declaration of selfhood. It captures the tumultuous, often painful journey of a transgender woman who grew up with the weight of misalignment between body and identity, endured the scars of a dysfunctional and abusive childhood, and nonetheless found a way to step into her fullness with dignity and joy. Through her words, readers are invited into both the struggles and the radiant triumphs that shape the trans experience.
The book opens with the raw emotional reality of living in a gender that does not align with one’s inner truth. K. does not shy away from describing the loneliness, shame, and confusion of her early years. Her childhood, marked by instability and emotional harm, becomes the backdrop against which her resilience shines even brighter. While the pain of being unseen and misunderstood echoes through these pages, the memoir never settles into despair. Instead, it moves steadily toward a narrative of transformation, showing that even in the darkest environments, the spark of authenticity can never be extinguished.
Original title: "Più veloce del tempo. Il viaggio della prima atleta transgender verso la felicità" (Faster than time. The first transgender athlete's journey to happiness) by Valentina Petrillo.
Valentina Petrillo’s book Più veloce del tempo. Il viaggio della prima atleta transgender verso la felicità is not just the autobiography of an athlete, but a chronicle of resilience, courage, and the pursuit of authenticity. Written with journalists Claudio Arrigoni and Ilaria Leccardi, the volume takes the reader on a journey through the triumphs and obstacles of a woman who challenged both disability and prejudice to make history in the world of sport. Valentina’s voice carries the energy of the track, where each race has been a metaphor for survival, redemption, and freedom. She reminds us that running was never simply about speed. For her, athletics represented a way out, a chance to breathe, and a path to rediscover herself. On the track she found meaning, motivation, and answers when life’s difficulties seemed overwhelming. It was her revenge against the injustices of fate and her claim to a life lived on her own terms.
Born in Naples in 1973, Valentina grew up with a passion for running, inspired by the legendary Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea. Yet at the age of fourteen her life was transformed by Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition that gradually compromised her vision. What might have seemed like the end of a sporting dream became instead the beginning of another path. She turned to five-a-side football for the visually impaired, earning a place on the Italian national team. But deep inside, her first love remained athletics, and in 2014 she returned to the track, winning multiple national titles in the men’s category. Even then, her real race had yet to begin.
2024,
Italian,
Italy,
Valentina Petrillo,
Full title: "Gender Explorers: Our Stories of Growing Up Trans and Changing The World" by Juno Roche.
Juno Roche’s Gender Explorers: Our Stories of Growing Up Trans and Changing the World is one of those rare books that feels like both a mirror and a window. It is a mirror for young trans people who have rarely seen themselves represented with such honesty, joy, and hope, and it is a window for everyone else to see what is possible when children are supported in their gender journeys instead of being stifled by fear or prejudice. The book opens with a striking belief that sets the tone for everything that follows: children who are questioning and exploring their gender are the gender bosses we so desperately need, they are our future. In this spirit, Juno offers a collection of interviews that let trans children and young people speak in their own words, not as case studies or statistics, but as whole human beings with dreams, fears, humor, and a vision of their lives.
The structure of the book is deceptively simple. Juno sits down with trans children, teenagers, and their families, and together they talk about the things that matter most to them: what it feels like to come out, what kinds of support have been essential, what makes them hopeful, and what worries they carry with them. The voices of parents and carers are included as well, showing the way love and acceptance from family can transform what might otherwise be a hostile world into a place where flourishing is possible. The result is a moving chorus of voices, each one unique, but together painting a picture of resilience and joy. These are not tragic tales of suffering that dominate so much of mainstream media when it comes to trans lives. Instead, they are affirmations of existence, proof that with love, recognition, and space to explore, trans children live fully and dream boldly.
2020,
English,
Interview,
Juno Roche,
Original title: "Travaglio. Genesi di una donna transgender" (Travaglio: The Genesis of a Transgender Woman) by Eva Carieri.
Eva Carieri’s new book Travaglio. Genesi di una donna transgender (Travaglio: The Genesis of a Transgender Woman) is a raw and unfiltered account of intolerance, drugs, sex, and violence in an Italy that has rarely been spoken about with such honesty. It is a narrative that does not shy away from the darker corners of life but instead confronts them, showing how the search for love can persist even when everything seems hostile and unforgiving. Beyond fear and beyond prejudice, Carieri writes about survival, self-discovery, and the fragile yet resilient pursuit of dignity.
This book comes after her 2022 autobiography Eva. Il prezzo dell’ambizione. La ricerca dell’amore nonostante tutto, oltre il pregiudizio (Eva. The Price of Ambition. The search for love despite everything, beyond prejudice). In that first work, she chronicled her personal journey, balancing ambition with the costs of being true to herself. The new book can be read as a continuation and deepening of that story, taking readers further into the formative experiences and struggles that shaped her into the woman she is today.
2025,
Eva Carieri,
Italian,
Italy,
Full title: "From 'Ka' To 'Ki' - Biography Of A Transgender Woman: A 'Transformation Through Strength And Resilience" by Lakshmi Ajoy.
Dr. Lakshmi Ajoy’s book From “Ka” To “Ki” – Biography of a Transgender Woman: A “Transformation Through Strength and Resilience is not merely a biography; it is a mirror reflecting both the cruelty and the hope of our world. At the heart of this work lies the extraordinary life of Deepika Naiduu, a woman who endured unimaginable pain yet rose to claim her identity with courage and grace. Her life is one of survival against betrayal, abuse, and relentless social rejection, but it is also one of rebirth, love, and resilience.
Deepika was born into a world that could not accept her truth. She grew up carrying the weight of rejection, enduring physical and emotional abuse that would have broken many spirits. The shadows of cruelty followed her, yet amidst the bleakness she found small islands of compassion. A handful of people, who saw her not as an outcast but as a human being worthy of love and respect, gave her the strength to keep moving forward. Their belief in her became the scaffolding on which she built her new life. Through them, she learned to embrace her true identity, ultimately transitioning and stepping into the fullness of who she had always been.
2025,
Deepika Naiduu,
English,
Lakshmi Ajoy,
Original title: "Terapia. A Outra Face do Amor. Relatos de Uma Paciente Transexual" (Therapy. The Other Face of Love. Reports of a Transgender Patient) by Laura Rodrigues Rocha.
The book Terapia. A Outra Face do Amor. Relatos de Uma Paciente Transexual by Laura Rodrigues Rocha is an unusual and thought-provoking work that sits at the intersection of autobiography, testimony, and personal discovery. On the surface, it tells the intimate story of a transgender woman, presenting her reflections, struggles, and healing process through the metaphor of therapy and the broader theme of love. Yet behind its pages lies a structure that mirrors the author’s approach to another long and patient project she carried out over nearly a decade: the creation of a series of self-taught music manuals.
Laura’s book does not rely on traditional scholarly references, academic frameworks, or the guiding voice of a teacher. Instead, it is written with the same philosophy that guided her manuals on musical instruments, which she conceived as complete works born of personal experience and self-study. In those manuals, dedicated to guitar, bass, and music theory, she laid out methods that connected one book to the other, forming a cohesive system built entirely on her own discoveries and organized around chord notation. What emerges is not only a technical guide but also a map of the author’s personal learning journey. In the same way, Terapia. A Outra Face do Amor can be understood as an extension of this methodology: an exploration of identity and self-acceptance that is written not from the perspective of authority but from the vulnerability of a learner sharing her progress with others who may face the same obstacles.
2022,
Brazil,
Laura Rodrigues Rocha,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Being Ellen: A Second Chance at Life" by Ellen Krug.
How often does anyone get a second chance at life? For most people, life is a continuous journey with only one opportunity to become the person they are meant to be. Ellen Krug, known to friends and readers as Ellie, experienced that rare and extraordinary gift. After living fifty-two years presenting as a man who often prioritized career and societal expectations over personal authenticity, she embraced her true self and transitioned into the woman she had always known herself to be. Being Ellen: A Second Chance at Life is a deeply intimate and inspiring account of that transformation, detailing the challenges, triumphs, and profound lessons Ellie encountered along the way.
In Being Ellen, Ellie reflects on her journey with honesty, humor, and courage. She chronicles the moments of uncertainty and fear, as well as the joy of finally inhabiting her authentic self. Transitioning later in life brought unique challenges, from learning the subtleties of womanhood to navigating relationships that had been formed under her former identity. Ellie emphasizes the importance of chosen family, particularly her enduring friendship with Thap, a bond formed in eighth grade that remained a source of unwavering support throughout her life. Through these relationships, she discovered that love and allyship often appear in unexpected forms and that the people who truly matter will walk with you even when everything else changes.
2025,
Ellen Krug,
English,
Interview,
USA,
Original title: "Ich bin Charlotte: Mein Weg in ein echtes Leben" (I am Charlotte: My path to a real life) by Charlotte Jasmin Sky Tiberian.
Charlotte Jasmin Sky Tiberian’s autobiography Ich bin Charlotte: Mein Weg in ein echtes Leben is a powerful and unflinching story of a woman who dared to step out of the shadows of a life that never felt like her own. The book opens with the haunting question of what it means to live trapped in a role that does not reflect one’s true self, a question Charlotte wrestled with from childhood into adulthood. From the first pages, she invites readers into her inner world, exposing the struggles of a life filled with uncertainty, silence, and the constant sense of wearing a mask. What follows is not only a deeply personal journey but also a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit when confronted with the need to live authentically.
Charlotte’s story is marked by many turning points, some painful and others liberating. She writes candidly about her childhood, a time shaped by confusion and the heavy weight of expectations that forced her into a role she never chose. The themes of love, loss, depression, and addiction run through her early years, but so does an unshakable longing for truth. With honesty and vulnerability, she traces how these experiences ultimately led her to confront the life-altering realization that she could no longer deny her true identity. Choosing to live openly as the woman she had always been was not a sudden decision but the result of a long and often grueling process of self-discovery.
2025,
Charlotte Jasmin Sky Tiberian,
German,
Full title: "16,000km or so" by tyrnyr x.
In 16,000km or so, tyrnyr x takes the reader on a journey that is at once deeply personal, culturally specific, and universally resonant. This second collection, following Ulysses: an odyssey in poetry, situates itself within the tradition of road narratives, yet it refuses to conform neatly to expectation. Echoes of Kerouac’s freewheeling spirit, Krakauer’s obsession with escape, and Sanchez’s lyrical urgency are evident, but tyrnyr folds them into a distinctly queer landscape of desire, grief, resilience, and laughter. Even Britney Spears’ cinematic detour in Crossroads becomes part of the book’s constellation of influences, reminding us that pop culture has long been a secret map for those looking to find themselves on unfamiliar terrain.
The premise is deceptively simple. Three queer people, bound together in romantic entanglement, take to the highways of the United States in the summer of 2022. What they seek is not just scenery but healing, and what they pursue is not simply freedom but the elusive presence of Tori Amos, that spectral figure of artistry and queer devotion. Yet the road is more than a backdrop; it becomes a living witness to the turbulence of its time. The trip unfolds amid Pride celebrations that feel both defiant and fragile, as monkeypox spreads and the legal aftershocks of Roe v. Wade’s overturning reshape bodies and futures. The specter of Trump’s first presidency lingers even as the country insists it has moved beyond it. The pandemic, still raw, haunts every public space with a reminder of isolation and loss. And, though unspoken in its immediacy, the book exists on the edge of subsequent global crises, capturing a fleeting interval when America felt both exhausted and restless, weary yet still mythologized.
2025,
Australia,
English,
tyrnyr x,
Original title: "Señales: trans*, travesti, no binarie ..." (Signs: trans*, transvestite, non-binary...) by Niki Raveau.
The book Señales: trans, travesti, no binarie...* by Niki Raveau opens a window into lives that are often overlooked, dismissed, or silenced. It is not a conventional chronicle but a vibrant collective portrait shaped through nearly three years of work alongside communities of trans, travesti, and non-binary people in Chile. What emerges is a living testimony that combines photography, storytelling, and personal accounts to build a narrative of identity, struggle, and resilience. Rather than presenting individual biographies in isolation, the book weaves together experiences across different ages and social realities, creating a sense of shared history and continuity. From the voices of children discovering their identities to adults fighting for dignity in the face of marginalization, Señales captures the complexity of lives lived at the intersection of visibility and exclusion.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is the focus on Fundación Selenna, a unique and groundbreaking school project in Chile. Created by families of trans children and youth, Fundación Selenna represents an oasis of recognition and dignity in an often hostile social landscape. By opening their doors to Raveau, they allowed the project to document a space where education becomes a form of resistance, where young trans people can grow without the constant burden of explaining their existence. This perspective makes visible the urgent need for spaces that embrace trans and non-binary identities without forcing them into the margins.
2019,
Chile,
Niki Raveau,
Spanish,
Full title: "Ten Years: A Transexual Memoir" by Tara Hudson.
Tara Hudson’s book Ten Years: A Transexual Memoir is both a profoundly intimate personal narrative and a sharp indictment of the systems that failed her. Written with honesty and urgency, it recounts a decade of her life in which she endured not only the ordinary struggles of living openly as a transgender woman but also the extraordinary injustices of being placed in a male prison despite her identity. What emerges is a powerful chronicle of resilience and survival, but also a plea for compassion, justice, and lasting change.
Hudson begins by reflecting on her childhood and the early awareness that she was different from those around her. She describes the years of self-discovery that followed, including her work as a make-up artist, where she built a career while continuing her transition. Yet the memoir’s most searing sections revolve around her incarceration in 2015, when she was sentenced to prison and initially placed in HMP Bristol, an all-male facility. What should have been a short custodial sentence turned into a national controversy after more than 150,000 people signed a petition demanding that she be transferred to a women’s prison.
2025,
English,
Tara Hudson,
UK,
Original title: "Toda vida importa: uma análise antropológica, sociológica e jurídica sobre os trabalhadores transexuais" (Every life matters: an anthropological, sociological, and legal analysis of transgender workers) by Daniela Miranda Duarte.
Daniela Miranda Duarte’s book Toda vida importa: uma análise antropológica, sociológica e jurídica sobre os trabalhadores transexuais emerges as a necessary and urgent contribution to contemporary Brazilian society. The author begins by carefully introducing conceptual aspects, guiding the reader into a subject that is often surrounded by prejudice, misunderstanding, or silence. She lays the groundwork with clarity, ensuring that even those unfamiliar with the struggles of transgender people can engage with the discussion in a meaningful way. By doing so, she removes barriers of distance and indifference, replacing them with knowledge and empathy.
2020,
Brazil,
Daniela Miranda Duarte,
Portuguese,
Full title: "The Woman Inside: From Outer Space to Inner Peace" by Bobbi Waterman.
There is a rare kind of courage that does not announce itself with fanfare, it moves quietly and persistently through a life lived in service of others, it surfaces in small acts and big decisions alike, and it is the quiet engine behind Bobbi Waterman’s memoir, The Woman Inside: From Outer Space to Inner Peace. This book reads like a voyage, not only across geography and career milestones, but deeper, into the territories of identity, belonging, and what it means to become oneself after a lifetime of roles that were assigned long before the author could consent. If you come for rockets and the steady, exacting world of NASA, you will find them, vivid and technically grounded. If you come for the inner life of transition, you will be met with honesty, nuance, and the kind of reflective clarity that only decades of lived experience can produce.
Waterman organizes her story around a life spent at the edge of human possibility, she spent thirty four years at NASA, a detail that could intimidate a reader who thinks of astronauts and mission control as being far removed from the intimate struggles of gender and self. Yet this is precisely what makes the narrative powerful, the contrast between the institutional, objective world of rocket launches and the deeply personal, subjective world of gender transition creates a tension that the book handles with compassion and intellectual rigor. The tasks of launching payloads, leading teams, and traveling to remote sites around the world become, in Waterman’s hands, metaphors for the stages of self discovery, each mission echoing a small rehearsal for the larger, riskier mission of becoming who she truly is.
2025,
Bobbi Waterman,
English,
USA,
Full title: "Thanuja: A Memoir of Migration and Transition" by Thanuja Singam.
Thanuja: A Memoir of Migration and Transition by Thanuja Singam is a work that defies easy categorisation, because it is at once a story of exile, survival, self-discovery and profound transformation. At its heart is the experience of a Tamil refugee fleeing the violence of the Sri Lankan civil war, making her way first through India and then to Europe. The journey is shaped by political turmoil, family ties and the dislocation that comes with forced migration. Yet woven into this narrative is another journey that is just as urgent and life-altering, the recognition and affirmation of her identity as a woman. The two stories unfold together, making the memoir both a chronicle of geopolitical conflict and a testament to the intimate struggles of gender transition.
Thanuja’s recollections are infused with the pain of displacement and the relentless search for belonging. She describes the bewildering process of adapting to new countries and cultures while carrying the trauma of violence and loss. Her path is not linear. It is filled with moments of confusion, of unexpected pleasures, and of sharp betrayals from people and institutions she hoped might offer understanding. These conflicting experiences shape her gradual acceptance of her womanhood, showing that self-recognition is never a simple act but a process complicated by the expectations and prejudices of others.
2024,
English,
Sri Lanka,
Thanuja Singam,
Original title: "TRANSLUCIDA" (Translucent) by Sebastião Reis Junior.
The book Translúcida by Sebastião Reis Junior emerges as a singular work that blends photography, literature, and social critique to confront the realities of transgender prisoners in Brazil. Composed of thirty-eight photographs of incarcerated transgender women taken by Reis Junior, a minister of the Superior Court of Justice, the book is accompanied by thirty-five texts and two illustrations, all aiming to provoke reflection on human rights, incarceration, and the right to self-identity.
The photographs were captured at the Pinheiros II Detention Center in São Paulo, providing a rare and intimate glimpse into lives often hidden behind prison walls. Reis Junior approaches his subjects with sensitivity and respect, requesting permission to photograph each inmate, ensuring that the images convey dignity rather than exploitation. The book is not intended merely as a photo collection, nor does it confine itself to a discussion of prison conditions. Instead, it uses visual and literary art to spark broader conversations about transgender existence, societal prejudice, and the human experience of those marginalized by both the legal system and social norms. According to the minister, the work seeks to dismantle the silences that surround transgender lives and to illuminate the truths that prejudice and misinformation often obscure. The contributions in Translúcida come from people with diverse backgrounds, including legal professionals, military personnel, doctors, and artists, each expressing their reflections on human rights through the medium of their choice.
2023,
Portuguese,
Sebastião Reis Junior,
Full title: "I Was an Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America" by Sheryl Weikal.
Sheryl Weikal’s memoir I Was an Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America arrives at a moment when public debate about the very existence of transgender children is louder than ever. For years, figures like J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have insisted that trans identities in children are the result of external influence, that young people are not capable of knowing who they truly are, and that transition is always prompted by adults.
Sheryl Weikal’s life story dismantles that narrative with unflinching honesty. Raised in a deeply conservative homeschooling family, she knew from her earliest memories that she was a girl. At eight years old, she even crafted a doll that represented herself in her true gender, a gesture both innocent and profound, one that expressed what words could not yet carry. Her memoir reveals how even the strictest isolation from progressive ideas could not erase her own sense of self.
2025,
English,
Sheryl Weikal,
Original title: "Quando Eu Tinha 35" (When I was 35) by Jon O'Brien.
Quando Eu Tinha 35, or When I Was 35, by Jon O'Brien, is a raw and piercing exploration of a life that reflects the stark realities faced by travestis in Brazil, a population whose average life expectancy tragically hovers around thirty-five years, a figure dramatically lower than the national average of seventy-five. The narrative immerses readers in the life of a travesti who confronts her existence with unflinching honesty, alternating between profound despair and a persistent drive to carve out a life that feels meaningful and worth living.
The story is meticulously structured to trace the protagonist's losses and victories throughout her journey, illustrating both the intimate struggles of identity and the broader societal indifference toward the shortened lifespans of trans and travesti individuals. The curation by Eller Cristine Müller, a travesti poet and writer, and Christopher João, a trans man and activist for LGBTQIA+ rights, amplifies the book's critical lens on social neglect and systemic discrimination, making it not only a personal account but also a pointed social critique.
2021,
Brazil,
Jon O'Brien,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Debbie's Secret Life: The Transgender Experience" by Deborah Ballard.
Deborah Ballard’s Debbie’s Secret Life: The Transgender Experience is not just the story of one girl forced to live in hiding, it is a deeply human account of what it means to carry a truth so profound and yet so dangerous that it must be concealed at all costs. At its heart lies Debbie, a girl with a secret. To the outside world she appears to be a boy. Even her parents are uncertain about her identity, and she quickly learns that revealing the truth could bring consequences so severe that they might cost her everything, even her life. In this world of silence and fear, the question becomes whether she will ever find the strength and freedom to be herself, or whether her struggle will become a catalyst for changing the way the world sees transgender people.
The book weaves together personal testimony, raw emotion, and social critique, offering a voice to the millions of transgender children and adults who have had to live in the shadows. Debbie’s story is not one of fantasy or invention. It comes from the lived experience of Deborah Ballard, an American IT architect consultant, writer, and activist whose own life has been marked by both extraordinary professional accomplishments and the often-painful realities of growing up transgender in a world that did not understand or accept her. She was one of the early pioneers in the commercialization of the Internet during the 1990s, helped advance Linux and Open Source technology in the following decade, and played a key role in globalization initiatives that reshaped international business. Yet behind those achievements was the secret life of a girl who knew her identity from the age of two but was forced to conceal it.
2012,
Debbie Ballard,
Deborah Ballard,
English,
Interview,
Full title: "One Perfect Daughter: He Was The Perfect Son. Until She Wasn't" by Jane Foster.
This memoir by Jane Foster titled One Perfect Daughter: He Was The Perfect Son. Until She Wasn’t is a wrenching, honest chronicle of how a family comes apart and slowly, painfully reassembles itself around a child’s truth. Foster begins from a place many parents know well: pride in an accomplished son, admiration for his brilliance, hopes for his future.
Julian is smart, well‐behaved, full of promise. She loves him, expects him to follow the path she and so many others imagine for a child like him. Then one evening across the dinner table he hands her a note: “Please don’t be disappointed. This doesn’t change who I am.” She reads, confused. He says, “I’m transgender.” That moment becomes a fulcrum on which everything tilts. The future she saw for Julian, the person she thought she knew, begins to shift, to slip in ways she does not yet understand. The story that follows is raw. Uninhibited. Foster allows us into the collapse of her certainties. She admits to shock, grief, confusion. She grapples with what it means for her child to change identity, how that affects their relationship, how it changes her view of herself as a mother. The emotional currents are turbulent. There is denial, there is acceptance, there is resistance, there is reconciliation. There are late‐night arguments, anguished tears, moments of fierce love that transcend everything else.
2024,
English,
Jane Foster,
Original title: "Transgender" by Adam Suchý and Alena Vernerová.
The book Transgender by Adam Suchý and Alena Vernerová presents an intimate, open, and honest conversation between a mother of a transgender child and a clinical psychologist who has spent nearly two decades working with transgender individuals undergoing medical transition. This topic has become one of the most discussed in recent years, generating intense emotions, polarizing opinions, and a mixture of myths, ideologies, ignorance, and prejudices.
Transgender issues intersect with social, legal, diagnostic, and global changes, making them both highly visible and deeply personal. Through an engaging dialogue, the book offers the latest knowledge, research findings, personal experiences, and stories, acknowledging that while not all answers are known, the courage to ask the questions is invaluable. It is intended for anyone affected by transgender topics, not just transgender people themselves, but also their parents, siblings, teachers, professionals in helping roles, and a broader professional audience interested in understanding the contemporary world more fully.
Full title: "Do You Still Like Football: From Harley-Riding Rancher to Fashion Icon: A Journey of Courage and Reinvention" by Andrea Leigh.
Andrea Leigh’s memoir Do You Still Like Football: From Harley-Riding Rancher to Fashion Icon: A Journey of Courage and Reinvention is a story that refuses to fit neatly into one category. It is part life story, part manifesto, part guide to self-discovery, and part love letter to authenticity. What begins as the account of a rancher, husband, father, and pharmaceutical executive soon unfolds into something far deeper: the journey of a woman who dared to look into the mirror and acknowledge a truth that had been waiting for her all along.
By all standard measures, Andy, as she was known then, had built the American Dream. A successful career in the pharmaceutical industry brought security, while a marriage and family life on a ranch grounded in sustainable practices offered both beauty and meaning. Yet beneath the outward picture of success was a persistent sense of incompleteness, a quiet calling toward something more. That unspoken longing would eventually lead Andrea to confront herself with honesty, vulnerability, and ultimately, courage.
2024,
Andrea Leigh,
English,
Original title: "Transradioativa: Você me conhece porque tem medo ou tem medo porque me conhece?" (Transradioactive: Do you know me because you're afraid, or are you afraid because you know me?) by Valéria Barcellos.
“Transradioativa: Você me conhece porque tem medo ou tem medo porque me conhece?” by Valéria Barcellos is a powerful and deeply personal work that transcends conventional autobiographical writing. In this book, Valéria, a black trans woman, singer, actress, DJ, performer, writer, and visual artist, shares her lived experiences with unflinching honesty and artistry.
Her life story is inseparable from the broader struggles of trans and Black communities in Brazil, and her work embodies transnegritude and transfeminism with an intensity that challenges readers to confront their own assumptions and fears. Valéria’s recognition as a Mulher Cidadã, the highest honor awarded to women in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, underscores her role as a trailblazer not only in the arts but in social advocacy, making her story one of resistance, resilience, and radical affirmation of identity.
2020,
Portuguese,
Valéria Barcellos,
Full title: "Dance Naked with God" by Barbara Marie Minney.
Barbara Marie Minney’s Dance Naked with God is a collection that challenges readers to immerse themselves in the raw, multi-layered rhythms of human emotion. The work unfolds in language that is emotionally fractured yet intricate, each poem resonating with intensity and vulnerability. Partway through, Barbara poses the question, “How do poets love?” and in doing so, she invites readers to consider love not as a simple, singular experience but as a force that is complicated, all-encompassing, and profoundly human.
Her poems teem with imagery that overlaps and interlocks like scales, creating a shimmering, chameleon-like effect that captures the kaleidoscope of introspection, desire, and spiritual seeking. By the final poem, the reader is left with a sense of renewal, an awareness that passion, grief, and joy can coexist in the same space, transforming the self in subtle yet profound ways. These poems do not offer a neat answer to the question of how poets love, but they illuminate the depth and ferocity of poetic devotion, the ways it can challenge and expand one’s understanding of intimacy, identity, and faith. Reading the collection, I found myself transported into moments of ecstatic reflection and quiet revelation, feeling the liveliness of my own resurrection mirrored in Barbara’s words.
2023,
Barbara Marie Minney,
English,
Interview,
