Transgender Biographies

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Barbara Marie Minney - A Woman in Progress

Full title: "A Woman in Progress" by Barbara Marie Minney.

Barbara Marie Minney’s A Woman in Progress is not simply a poetry collection, it is a radiant, defiant, and deeply human memoir-in-verse that speaks to transformation, faith, pain, and joy with fearless authenticity. Winner of the 2024 American Fiction Award for Poetry Chapbook and an Eric Hoffer Award nominee, this chapbook reveals the tender interior of a poet who has walked through fire and emerged, not unscarred, but empowered.

Minney’s fourth collection may be slim in size, but it contains worlds, worlds shaped by courage, longing, fierce love, and a hard-earned sense of self. Minney is a seventh-generation Appalachian, a retired attorney, and a proud transgender woman who began her transition at the age of sixty-three after decades of repression. As she shared in her candid interview with Heroines of My Life, poetry became her means of survival and resistance, “a way to document and process my thoughts, feelings, struggles, and triumphs.” A Woman in Progress charts the earliest years of that journey, unfolding like a spiritual testimony, an act of prayer, and a series of intimate conversations with the self and the reader.

Full title: "Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy Seal's Journey to Coming Out Transgender" by Kristin Beck and Anne Speckhard.

Kristin Beck’s Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming Out Transgender, co-authored with Anne Speckhard, is a raw and deeply personal memoir that provides a rare glimpse into the life of a highly decorated Navy SEAL navigating the complexities of gender identity. The book is both an account of Beck’s distinguished military career and an exploration of the emotional and psychological turmoil she faced before embracing her true self.

Beck’s military experiences, spanning 20 years and 13 deployments, including service with the elite SEAL Team Six, make for gripping reading. She recounts intense combat situations and the unwavering camaraderie among soldiers, but beneath the valor and discipline, she harbored a profound sense of dissonance. The memoir does not shy away from detailing the pressures of hypermasculinity within the military, an environment that often left Beck feeling alienated. Her transition was not just a personal journey but a public statement that challenged deeply ingrained perceptions of gender in one of the most traditionally masculine institutions.

Full title: "Eva's World: A Real Woman’s Life" by Ella Marques.

This is the third book by Ella Marques. "I was born a boy, from Venus: It's time to be yourself" (2017) was the first autobiography of Ella Marques. In 2020, she published her second book: "Coming Home to Venus: The story of a woman transitioning to her real self".

"Eva’s World is the story of a transgender pansexual hard-working woman that travels the world for business and pleasure. She and her three friends Linda, Olympia and Victoria come together regularly, talk about their lives, their loves and their expectations. Two of these girls are transgender, the other two are cisgender - their lives and expectations are similar, just some small differences. This is a positive book about life as a very privileged transgender person, about traveling, about fun, expectations but above all about love. Yes, transgender women are women. They live, they love, and they can be quite normal. All I ask is that you open your eyes."

Full title: "Poetic Memoir Chapbook Challenge" by Barbara Marie Minney.

Barbara Marie Minney’s Poetic Memoir Chapbook Challenge is a remarkable testament to the power of poetry as a vehicle for personal truth, identity, and resilience. As the second poetry collection by this award-winning Appalachian poet, writer, and activist, this chapbook continues to build on the rich foundation established in her debut If There’s No Heaven, which itself won the 2020 Poetry Is Life Book Award and was recognized as an Akron Beacon Journal Best Northeast Ohio Book. Barbara Marie Minney is a native of West Virginia and a proud seventh-generation Appalachian. She brings to her work a unique perspective shaped by her heritage, her lived experience as a transgender woman, and her lifelong dedication to both craft and advocacy.

This intersectional identity imbues her poetry with a rare authenticity and courage, creating works that resonate deeply with readers across diverse communities. The Poetic Memoir Chapbook Challenge is aptly named, as it challenges both the author and her readers to engage with poetry not just as a literary form, but as a means of memoir, capturing the intimate, complex, and sometimes painful experiences that define a life. The collection feels like a heartfelt conversation, revealing Barbara’s ongoing journey with identity, love, loss, and the search for belonging.

Original title: "Ella era yo: Memorias de mi transición" (She was me: Memories of my transition) is the Spanish language edition of "I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition" by Lucy Sante.

"An iconic writer's lapidary memoir of a life spent pursuing a dream of artistic truth while evading the truth of her own gender identity, until, finally, she turned to face who she really was For a long time, Lucy Sante felt unsure of her place.

Born in Belgium, the only child of conservative working-class Catholic parents who transplanted their little family to the United States, she felt at home only when she moved to New York City in the early 1970s and found her people among a band of fellow bohemians. Some would die young, to drugs and AIDS, and some would become jarringly famous. Sante flirted with both fates, on her way to building an estimable career as a writer. But she still felt like her life a performance. She was presenting a façade, even to herself."

Full title: "Enthusiastically Me" by Hazel Krebs.

"A journey of self discovery, covering only a few years, though a lifetime of emotions starting with despair and anguish created through expectations from family, society, and religion; eventually leading to discovering the beautiful life that was always held within. The journey uncovers the darkest paths of one existence, seemingly necessary to find the correct route for joyful happiness.

The story begins in March 2018, when the narrator, who is in the throws of a depressive episode, considers if this day will be the end. Along the path is the first stop at a familiar park, finding a bench that held the whole life for an afternoon. Eventually moving on from the bench and parts of the life, there is a meeting at that very bench, which is frustrating at first; however, later becomes the start of a new path. This time perhaps with a helpful trailblazer to join.

Full title: "If There's No Heaven" by Barbara Marie Minney.

Barbara Marie Minney’s If There’s No Heaven is a profoundly moving and courageous poetry collection that charts the deeply personal journey of a transgender woman embracing her authentic self later in life. As a native of West Virginia and a seventh-generation Appalachian, Barbara brings a distinctive voice shaped by her rich cultural roots, her Christian faith, and her complex experience of gender transition at age sixty-three after decades of repression.

Winner of the 2020 Poetry Is Life Book Award and recognized as an Akron Beacon Journal Best Northeast Ohio Book that same year, If There’s No Heaven is much more than a collection of poems. It is a lyrical memoir that serves as both an intimate confession and a bold challenge to societal norms and stereotypes surrounding gender, faith, and identity. Barbara’s poetry unfolds with a raw honesty and clarity that invites readers into the first two years of her transition. As she writes, these pages document not only her struggles and triumphs but also the process of reclaiming her identity as the woman she was “always intended to be,” a journey she undertook after repressing her true gender for over sixty years.

Full title: "Not Ded Aslepe" by Iden Crockett.

"Not Ded Aslepe is an illustrated collection of poetry chronicling the author's emotions as she explores her gender, PTSD, OSDD, eating disorder, self injury, love, sexuality, and friendship. The collection is centered around the non-linear poetic narrative of the author and her primary other. The story unfolds through the meeting of this shadow sister, attempting to resist their influence, and ultimately accepting Them as a part of themselves.

his collection is a frank and unflinching look into one person's struggle to discover themselves while maintaining sanity. It is a celebration of love and sexuality, queerness, gender expression, and a powerful commentary on the duality of the soul. This collection features eighty poems and is beautifully illustrated with nearly thirty original digital collages. The artwork for this collection was created by the author and is a re-interpretation of previously created work. Words and images combine to create a profoundly affecting piece of art. Not Ded Aslepe is a truly honest look at the author's mind. All of the beauty, horror, sensuality, and joy of a life is on display here."

Full title: "Bernie Wagenblast's Transformative Expedition: Resonances Below Ground: A Voice Discovering Its Harmony" by Richard M Hunter.

"Descend inside the subway system at the center of New York City, where the sounds of millions of stories are mixed with the roar of trains. We meet Bernie Wagenblast here, in the midst of the busy platforms and flickering fluorescent lights—the voice that leads travelers through the underground veins of the city.

However, "Bernie" is only a whisper, hiding the lady who is desperate to be free: Beatrice. A moving and engrossing journey through Bernie's metamorphosis, Echoes in the Underground is a symphony of emotions set against the backdrop of a world in upheaval. See his inner battles as he juggles his own need for authenticity with society's expectations. Sensitize to the quiver in his voice as he leaves the mask of "Bernie" and enters the platform as Beatrice, her voice now free to soar instead of being limited to announcements. This is a tapestry made of the threads of innumerable people impacted by Bernie's courage, not just her narrative. Watch how her transition encourages a young trans woman to speak up, deepens the relationship between a father and daughter, and challenges the city's systemic racism."

Full title: "Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix" by Tilly Bridges.

"Trans woman and screenwriter Tilly Bridges takes you through the trans allegories of the Matrix franchise, with deep dives into The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Animatrix, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Resurrections, tracking one person’s transition journey - from Thomas Anderson, to Neo... to Trinity. Each movie’s allegory is deeply layered, building from movie to movie, and speaks to a different aspect of trans existence.

You’ll learn how color is used to convey more than you realize, how Neo’s psyche is personified in the people around him, how no other mass media franchise speaks as truly, deeply, and honestly to the trans experience, and exactly why these movies are beloved and vital to the trans community (and their cis allies). Free your mind, and see just how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Full title: "Bilbo's Bend" by Aleshia Brevard.

"Trey Bilbo spent his early life on a Tennessee farm, the son of a loving Appalachian-born mother and a distant blue-blooded father. Young, handsome, and talented, he wins an art school scholarship that takes him to San Francisco. He finds himself an affordable place to live in the nefarious Tenderloin district, where he is befriended by a male street hustler with a flair for fashion design, a Cajun stripper who performs with his pet boa, and an assortment of 1960s social activists.

Trey experiments with several personas in his search for identity-as the boy-toy of a wealthy male art connoisseur, the husband of a pregnant friend, an ally to a transsexual high fashion model-all the while struggling to find himself. Does sleeping with another man mean he's gay? Why does that feel not quite right? In this coming-of-age novel, Trey Bilbo wrestles with probing questions about his sexual uncertainty, as he revisits many of the San Francisco haunts and wilder sides of streets that Ms. Brevard herself knew in her pre-gender-transitioning days.

Author Aleshia Brevard transitioned from male to female in 1962, not long after sex change surgery, as it was called then, became available. In the years since, she has often wondered what life as a boy might have been if gender reassignment had not been possible. This novel is her answer."

Full title: "Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to Intimacy, Pleasure and Relationships" by Juno Roche.

"In this frank, funny and poignant book, transgender activist Juno Roche discusses sex, desire and dating with leading figures from the trans and non-binary community. Calling out prejudices and inspiring readers to explore their own concepts of intimacy and sexuality, the first-hand accounts celebrate the wonder and potential of trans bodies and push at the boundaries of how society views gender, sexuality and relationships. Empowering and necessary, this collection shows all trans people deserve to feel brave, beautiful and sexy."

Juno Roche is a British author, journalist, and transgender activist known for her work in raising awareness about transgender issues. She has written extensively on topics related to gender identity, sexual health, and transgender rights. Roche is also recognized for her advocacy work and speaking engagements, where she shares her personal experiences as a transgender woman.

Full title: "Transformative Surgeries: What to Expect at Each Surgical Stage of your Transgender Journey" by Christina Vegas.

"Transitioning in and of itself is an extremely challenging process. Add-in the multiple surgeries during this scary, sometimes-tumultuous journey can be incredibly overwhelming.

When I started transitioning, I couldn’t find many books on the subject of trans surgeries. There was lots of information about each procedure but not a lot of information on what each one was really like. A few of these procedures have a profound impact on your life, and I was desperate to know what they were like. I had so many questions: How long does it really take to recover? Were you happy with the results? Did they address your dysphoria?"

Full title: "I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition" by Lucy Sante.

"Disidentes de género: la nueva generación" is the Spanish language edition of "Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation" by Kate Bornstein.

"Transgender narratives have made their way from the margins to the mainstream and back again, and today’s trans and nonbinary people, genderqueers, and other sex/gender radicals are writing a drastically new world into being.

Edited by the original gender outlaw, Kate Bornstein, together with writer, raconteur, and theater artist S. Bear Bergman, Gender Outlaws collects and contextualizes the work of this generation's trans and genderqueer forward thinkers - new voices from the stage, on the streets, in the workplace, in the bedroom, and on the pages and websites of the world's most respected publications. Gender Outlaws includes essays, commentary, comic art, and conversations from a diverse group of trans-spectrum people who live and believe in barrier-breaking lives."

Full title: "Forward!: Thoughts of a Trans Woman on the Christian Journey" by Lynn Elizabeth Walker.

"While there are many books containing essays on "ordinary" life from a spiritual or religious perspective, there are only a few with a perspective grounded in the trans identity. Moreover, a number of books for or about trans people have to do with the "exceptional" aspects of life of individual trans folks.

This book offers the perspective of a trans-identified clergy member in gaining greater understanding of ordinary life, seen through the specific lens of her lived experience. Forward! is a series of essays addressing issues that might arise for trans women during their transition journey. In general, the focus is on such aspects of day-to-day living as religion, philosophy, society, church, people, love, alienation, families, aging, and work."

Full title: "Tonacity: The Tona Brown Story" by Tona Brown.

In Tonacity: The Tona Brown Story, readers are offered an unfiltered, emotionally resonant, and deeply inspiring look into the life of one of America's most trailblazing artists, Tona Brown. This compelling collection of interviews, compiled over four years by St. Louis-based writer and musician Chris King, presents not only the raw and riveting narrative of Tona's journey as a transgender musician of color but also serves as a vital cultural artifact documenting the resilience, complexity, and brilliance of Black transgender women in America.

Tona Brown, a classically trained violinist and mezzo-soprano, is a history-maker: the first transgender woman to perform at Carnegie Hall and the first African American transgender woman to perform for a U.S. president. Yet Tonacity reveals that behind these milestones lies a woman whose journey has been shaped by profound pain, hard-won triumphs, and a relentless drive to uplift others. Structured around interview transcriptions, the book captures Tona’s voice with exceptional authenticity. The format allows her story to unfold naturally, raw, reflective, and powerfully human. Chris King’s role is more than that of an interviewer; he is a thoughtful curator who knows when to step back and let Tona speak, and when to frame her words with valuable context drawn from academic research, cultural commentary, and lived experiences of the broader transgender community.

Full title: "Foggy Googles: A sequel memoir to 'Do you know who I once was'" by Cami Richardson.

"Foggy Googles is a sequel memoir to my first book called 'Do you know who I once was.' In my discussions with my editor on the first book, she suggested I leave out many of my stories and memories about my firehouse years, my amazing wife Teri, my ski career and entrepreneurial years and try to focus the book on my transition to that of being a transgender woman. I agreed and I believe that first book helped me move forward in reaching my personal mission goal of educating and enlightening others about the transgender community. After publishing it and in allowing some friends and family to read some chapters that were left out, the common response I received was that I should publish them and include them in a sequel, so “Foggy Googles” became a reality."

Full title: "Kuri Aruththen/குறி அறுத்தேன்" (I cut the mark) by Kalki Subramaniam/கல்கி சுப்ரமணியம்.

Each word of Kalki Subramaniam's poetry comes from her heart like an arrow from a bow, it shoots rage against gender injustice, the poems are powerful, sarcastic, and challenging, and show the pride in the writer in her identity as a transgender woman.

From transgender people's lives to climate issues, her Tamil poems are deep, and heart-touching and would leave an impact on the reader for many days after reading the book. I interviewed Kalki in 2014 and asked her what she thinks about the present situation of transgender women in the Indian society in general: "It is sure changing for better in some states like Tamilnadu and Karnataka. However, many states of India still are not safe places for transgender people to live, for example, Kerala.

Full title: "My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely" by Kate Bornstein.

"Gender isn't just about "male" or "female" anymore - if you have any doubts, just turn on your television. RuPaul is as familiar as tomato ketchup with national radio and television shows, and transgendered folk are as common to talk-shows as screaming and yelling. But if the popularization of gender bending is revealing that "male" and "female" aren't enough, where are we supposed to go from here? Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender, but none provide a hands-on, accessible guide to having your own unique gender. With My Gender Workbook, Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living with or without a gender."

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Barbara Marie Minney - A Woman in Progress

Kristin Beck - Warrior Princess

Ella Marques - Eva's World: A Real Woman’s Life

Barbara Marie Minney - Poetic Memoir Chapbook Challenge

Lucy Sante - Ella era yo: Memorias de mi transición

Hazel Krebs - Enthusiastically Me

Barbara Marie Minney - If There's No Heaven

Iden Crockett - Not Ded Aslepe

Richard M Hunter - Bernie Wagenblast's Transformative...

Tilly Bridges - Begin Transmission

Aleshia Brevard - Bilbo's Bend

Juno Roche - Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to...

Christina Vegas - Transformative Surgeries

Lucy Sante - I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition

Kate Bornstein - Disidentes de género: la nueva generación

Lynn Elizabeth Walker - Forward!

Tona Brown - Tonacity: The Tona Brown Story

Cami Richardson - Foggy Googles

Kalki Subramaniam - Kuri Aruththen

Kate Bornstein - My Gender Workbook

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