A random collection of over 1910 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: "Da Karl blev Karla: En dansk læges bedrift" (When Karl became Karla: A Danish doctor's achievement) by Bent Rosenwein.
The book deals with gender reassignment surgery, which according to the book was performed on a young American man, Karl, who had traveled to Copenhagen to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
The book only deals peripherally with the gender reassignment surgery that Christine Jorgensen had undergone at Rigshospitalet. Shortly after Christine Jorgensen had her gender reassignment surgery, the Danish Parliament decided that in the future only Danish citizens could have such surgery in Denmark.
1954,
Bent Rosenwein,
Charlotte McLeod,
Danish,
"Den danske pige" is the Danish language edition of The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff.
Having gender reassignment surgery in the 1930s was an unusual and sensational affair, and the man who took the step to do so was the Danish painter Einar Mogens Andreas Wegener, who after the operation took the name of Lili Elbe.
The operation took place at the Institute for Sexology in Berlin, where the male organs were removed. The surgery was performed by Felix Abraham at the recommendation of Magnus Hirschfeld.
Einar Wegener was married to the beautiful, celebrated artist Gerda Wegener. They lived in a highly unusual marriage. Their life fate is told in this book, which is a fiction novel based on authentic events and diary entries from Einar Wegener.
1999,
Danish,
David Ebershoff,
Lili Elbe,
This is the Danish language edition of "Tula: My Story" by Caroline Cossey.
She is one of the most iconic figures in the history of the transgender movement. She is also one of my biggest inspirations.
Caroline Cossey is a British model who often worked under the name Tula, which she also used for two memoirs. She appeared in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Following her appearance in the film, she was outed as transgender by the British tabloid News of the World. In 1991, she became the first trans woman to pose for Playboy.
Since then she has become one of the biggest advocates of the transgender cause. In 2017 I had the honour of interviewing her for my blog and one of my questions was related to how she was treated by society.
1992,
Caroline Cossey,
Danish,
Tula,
Original title: "Min Vej Hjem" (My Way Home) by Anita Andersen.
The book provides you with a deep and poignantly honest account of my life as a woman trapped in a man's body. You will be able to read about my upbringing, about feeling trapped in the wrong body, and about taking up the fight and choosing life.
A journey of identity disorder, adaptation, prejudice, ignorance, distancing from close relationships and about the physical and mental challenges and changes a hormone therapy can cause. Last but not least, you can read about my gender reassignment surgery and life after. I will go into depth about my feelings and thoughts and hope that you as readers can sense and maybe even understand what life as a transgender person can be like and how much you are willing to go through to feel better inside. Many people think it's a choice when you suddenly come out as transgender.
2019,
Anita Andersen,
Danish,
Original title: "Forklædt som man: Da far blev mor" (Disguised as a man: When dad became a mother) by Michelle Klæstrup.
As a young man, he was a soldier. As a little older, he became a football player. He was fit and masculine. Yes, he even appeared in the newspaper because he saved a girl from drowning. The ladies loved him. They all thought he was a real man.
There was just one problem. He thought he was a woman.
This is Michelle Klæstrup's story - about the time she was disguised as a man. And when she became a woman. It's the story of how doctors called her a pervert, how her son ran away from home when she started having breasts and how her wife sent her to a sex club to find out what she was really into. It is the honest and uninhibited story of being transgender in Denmark, told more sadly, excitingly, funny, and beautifully than ever before. From boyhood's first innocent pair of girls' panties - to the irrevocably final farewell to manhood in an operating room in Thailand in 2013.
2015,
Danish,
Michelle Klæstrup,
Original title: "Min kamp for at blive kvinde" (My Struggle to Become a Woman) by Sasha Louise Sprange.
The book presents the story of Sasha Louise Sprange. Behind her intense blue eyes and ultra-feminine figure hides a story about how she grew up as a Christian boy. Only at the age of 33, in a private hospital in Miami, does she become the woman she always felt like inside.
It is a story about a young man who one spring night moves into Ørstedsparken, about stormy infatuation and unhappy love - and about feeling alone in her struggle to be accepted but still daring to stand by who she was.
2021,
Danish,
Sasha Louise Sprange,
