Adelheid Sonnenschein’s book Als transidente Frau bin ich von Gott YAHUWAH geliebt: Ich wurde als transidente Frau geboren! (As a transgender woman, I am loved by God YAHUWAH: I was born a transgender woman!) is a deeply moving testimony of faith, identity, and resilience. It is not a work of fiction or detached philosophy but a living confession, a chronicle of survival and divine connection told by a woman who has faced the cruelties of ignorance yet found an unshakable belief in the love of her Creator. In her book, Adelheid invites readers into the spiritual and emotional landscape of a transgender woman who has endured violence, misunderstanding, and rejection, but has never lost her sense of being loved by God.
She begins by confronting one of the most persistent misconceptions in society, namely the belief that transgender people are somehow “not right in the head.” To her, such prejudice only proves that many people have never truly engaged with the topic. Too often, society’s judgment blinds it to the suffering that trans people carry in silence, a suffering that can lead to depression and even suicide. Transphobia, she writes, adds another layer of pain, breaking not just spirits but bodies, and in her case, the violence was literal. She recalls being beaten so severely that she was left close to hospitalization, an experience that captures the brutality that far too many trans women endure.
Yet, what emerges from her writing is not despair but conviction. Adelheid insists that being transgender is not a choice, nor is it a question of sexuality. It is a fact of existence, written into one’s being before birth. A trans woman, she explains, is created as such in the womb, lives as such, and dies as such. Her identity is not a product of confusion but of divine intention. She needed more than fifteen years to fully accept that she was created by God, YAHUWAH, as a trans woman. For her, this realization was not abstract theology but a revelation that came directly from God Himself. She recounts moments when YAHUWAH spoke to her, affirming her womanhood, even touching her during what she describes as divine encounters. These experiences strengthened her faith and left her with a sense of peace and spiritual certainty that no human condemnation could ever shake.
The early phase of her artistic work was deeply personal, shaped by the pain of living in what she calls “the wrong body.” Her art became both therapy and testimony, a visual language for experiences that words could barely express. Over time, her creativity expanded beyond personal expression into a broader exploration of human emotion and color. She believes that the choice of color is crucial, for it gives strength and voice to what the soul cannot easily articulate. Between 2012 and 2016, she created more than eighty-five works, each one carrying traces of her journey through suffering and self-discovery.
Adelheid is not only a painter but also a poet, author, and book illustrator. Her artistic output reflects her restless curiosity and flexibility, qualities she describes as the driving forces behind her creativity. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Förderverein Bildende Kunst Ostholstein e. V., which has provided her opportunities to participate in numerous exhibitions across Germany and abroad. Her works have been shown in Neustadt, Oldenburg, Lübeck, Kiel, Osnabrück, and even as far as Espoo near Helsinki, Finland.
Among her notable pieces is “Gefangen im falschen Körper” (“Trapped in the Wrong Body”), which was featured in the national Ameos Art Prize competition and later included in a traveling exhibition across several German cities. Another work, “Leben im Spagat” (“Life in a Split”), was selected for the Artegrale and Stiftung Drachensee exhibitions, reflecting the emotional tension and resilience of a life lived between worlds. Her painting “Schreien nach dem Tod” (“Screaming after Death”) reached international audiences through exhibitions in Finland, where it drew attention to the link between mental health and artistic expression. Her participation in juried exhibitions with art historians, curators, and established artists affirms her position as a respected figure within the contemporary art scene.
Her art has been recognized not only nationally but also internationally, as shown by her successful participation in the Luxembourg Art Prize selection in both 2019 and 2020. Each exhibition marks a new chapter in her ongoing dialogue with the public, offering a glimpse into the spiritual and psychological dimensions of being a transgender artist in a world still learning to understand.
Through her work and her book, Adelheid Sonnenschein stands as a witness to both suffering and transcendence. She refuses to let ignorance or cruelty define her existence. Instead, she transforms pain into color, belief into beauty, and vulnerability into strength. Her story reminds us that faith and identity are not opposites but intertwined forces that can coexist in harmony. For her, being transgender is not a challenge to divine creation but a manifestation of it.
Her declaration that she was born a trans woman, loved by God YAHUWAH, resonates as an act of both courage and faith. It is a message to every person struggling with rejection or self-doubt that divine love knows no boundaries of gender. Adelheid’s voice, both as an artist and as a believer, calls for empathy, understanding, and the recognition that every human being, regardless of identity, is part of the sacred tapestry of creation. In her colors, her words, and her faith, she paints not only her own truth but a universal one: that love, especially divine love, is the ultimate affirmation of who we are.
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Photo via adelheid-sonnenschein
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