When Dominique Gallaway made the decision at age forty to embrace her authentic self, she wasn’t just making a personal choice, she was writing a radical act of survival and joy into existence. Her memoir, Free To Be Me: Transitioning at 40, is not only a story of transformation but also a testimony of courage, grief, resilience, and the deep beauty of becoming who you always were.
Dominique, a proud Black transgender woman, opens her life to readers with unflinching honesty. For decades, she had lived behind a carefully constructed façade, fulfilling roles others expected of her while secretly carrying the weight of a truth she feared the world wasn’t ready to accept. Like so many transgender women who transition later in life, her silence was not born of weakness, but of survival. Yet, as Free To Be Me reveals, silence can only hold back authenticity for so long.
The book’s defining moment is its quiet yet seismic shift: Dominique choosing herself. At forty, an age when many feel pressured to have their lives “settled,” she instead dared to begin again. She stepped into hormone therapy, confronted the medical and bureaucratic labyrinth of transition, and weathered the emotional storms of family, faith, and loss.
Her father’s death is one of the memoir’s most poignant chapters. She grieves not only the man himself but the reality that he never truly knew her. This layered sorrow, of losing a parent while knowing part of you remained hidden from them, speaks to the unique grief many transgender people carry. Yet Gallaway’s storytelling transforms even this heartbreak into a reminder of why living authentically matters: so that love, when it comes, can be whole.
Perhaps the most powerful thread running through Free To Be Me is its insistence that it is never too late to live fully. Gallaway refuses the cultural narrative that says transformation belongs only to the young. Instead, she reframes middle age as a time of rebirth. For readers, especially women who feel bound by age, circumstance, or fear, her story becomes both a mirror and a beacon.
The book is not just for transgender readers, nor solely for those considering transition. It is for anyone who has ever felt trapped by expectations, silenced by shame, or convinced that time has run out. Dominique’s voice is a reminder that freedom, though delayed, is still possible.
In today’s climate, when transgender lives are increasingly politicized, Dominique Gallaway’s memoir cuts through the noise with something deeply human: truth. Her narrative challenges stereotypes, expands representation, and affirms the richness of Black trans lives. At the same time, it dismantles the myth of “too late.” By stepping into her womanhood at forty, Gallaway proves that every age is the right age to claim yourself.
Her story also contributes to the growing body of literature that documents transgender women of color shaping their own narratives. In doing so, she creates space for others to find their voices, and she offers readers the gift of witnessing survival turned into art.
Free To Be Me: Transitioning at 40 is more than a memoir, it’s a call to liberation. Dominique Gallaway shows us that self-love can bloom at any stage of life, that grief can transform into growth, and that authenticity is worth every risk. Her words echo like a mantra: it is never too late to live your truth.
For anyone standing on the edge of change, fearful of what lies ahead, Gallaway’s book is a guiding light. And for those who think they’ve missed their chance to start over, it is a love letter reminding them that freedom is timeless.
Available via Amazon
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