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: "Ik ben niet gek, ik ben een meisje. Mijn verandering" (I’m not crazy, I’m a girl. My transformation) by Hanne Wagenvoord. In 2016, the book was published in German under the title Ich bin nicht verrückt. Ich bin ein Mädchen! ("I'm not crazy. I am a girl!").
Ik ben niet gek, ik ben een meisje. Mijn verandering (I’m not crazy, I’m a girl. My transformation) by Hanne Wagenvoord is a deeply moving autobiography that captures one woman’s long and painful journey toward living as her true self. More than a personal memoir, it is a raw and tender exploration of identity, truth, and the price of silence. The book offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a transgender woman who spent half a century trapped in a role that was never hers. Written with honesty and quiet courage, it is both a confession and a celebration, a story about the liberation that comes when truth finally wins over fear.
Hanne Wagenvoord was born as Hans in the small Dutch town of Balkbrug, a child who quickly realized she was different from the other boys. At just six years old, she sensed that something inside her did not align with the expectations around her. While the other boys were racing toy cars and roughhousing in the playground, Hans preferred beautiful clothes and the company of girls. She loved to braid her classmates’ hair, dreaming of attending a household management school after primary school, a path reserved for girls in the conservative eastern Netherlands of the late 1950s. She adored helping the waitresses and cleaning ladies in her brother’s restaurant, listening to their stories about life, love, and laughter. Everything about her interests and gestures pointed toward girlhood, but the world stubbornly insisted that she was a boy.
2014,
Dutch,
Hanne Wagenvoord,
Original title: "Ich bin nicht verrückt. Ich bin ein Mädchen!" (I'm not crazy. I am a girl!) by Hanne Wagenvoord.
Hanne Wagenvoord’s book Ich bin nicht verrückt. Ich bin ein Mädchen! is a deeply moving autobiography that captures one woman’s long and painful journey toward living as her true self. Originally published in Dutch in 2014 under the title Ik ben niet gek, ik ben een meisje. Mijn verandering (“I’m not crazy, I’m a girl. My transformation”), the book offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a transgender woman who spent half a century trapped in a role that was never hers. Written with honesty and quiet courage, it is both a confession and a celebration, a story about the liberation that comes when truth finally wins over fear.
Hanne Wagenvoord was born as Hans in the small Dutch town of Balkbrug, a child who quickly realized she was different from the other boys. At just six years old, she knew something inside her did not match the expectations around her. While her peers were content with toy cars and rough games, Hans preferred beautiful clothes and the company of girls. In school, she loved to braid her classmates’ hair and dreamed of attending a household management school after primary school, a path considered appropriate for girls, not boys, in the conservative eastern Netherlands of the late 1950s. She adored helping the waitresses and cleaning ladies in her brother’s restaurant, listening to their gossip and stories about life and love. Everything about her interests, gestures, and desires aligned with being a girl, except for one stubborn fact: the world insisted she was a boy.
2016,
German,
Hanne Wagenvoord,
