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: "Finalmente io" (Finally me) by Sarah Jessica Zucca.
Finalmente io by Sarah Jessica Zucca is a deeply personal and moving work that brings to light the complex and often misunderstood subject of gender dysphoria. Through her own story, Sarah J invites readers to enter a world where identity and biology do not coincide, where the soul and the body speak two different languages, and where the journey toward alignment becomes both an act of courage and self-love. The author’s intention is not only to narrate her transformation but also to educate, to clear away the misconceptions that surround what she rightly describes as a medical condition present from birth.
Gender dysphoria, as Sarah explains, is not a whim or a phase. It is a condition in which a person finds themselves imprisoned in a body that does not reflect their true essence. A child may appear outwardly healthy, but within them lives a soul that does not correspond to the gender assigned at birth. For many, this incongruity is evident from the earliest years, expressed through gestures, preferences, and an unshakeable sense that something essential does not match. Although these cases are relatively rare, they carry profound implications for those who experience them.
2024,
Italian,
Italy,
Sarah Jessica Zucca,
Original title: "Più veloce del tempo. Il viaggio della prima atleta transgender verso la felicità" (Faster than time. The first transgender athlete's journey to happiness) by Valentina Petrillo.
Valentina Petrillo’s book Più veloce del tempo. Il viaggio della prima atleta transgender verso la felicità is not just the autobiography of an athlete, but a chronicle of resilience, courage, and the pursuit of authenticity. Written with journalists Claudio Arrigoni and Ilaria Leccardi, the volume takes the reader on a journey through the triumphs and obstacles of a woman who challenged both disability and prejudice to make history in the world of sport. Valentina’s voice carries the energy of the track, where each race has been a metaphor for survival, redemption, and freedom. She reminds us that running was never simply about speed. For her, athletics represented a way out, a chance to breathe, and a path to rediscover herself. On the track she found meaning, motivation, and answers when life’s difficulties seemed overwhelming. It was her revenge against the injustices of fate and her claim to a life lived on her own terms.
Born in Naples in 1973, Valentina grew up with a passion for running, inspired by the legendary Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea. Yet at the age of fourteen her life was transformed by Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition that gradually compromised her vision. What might have seemed like the end of a sporting dream became instead the beginning of another path. She turned to five-a-side football for the visually impaired, earning a place on the Italian national team. But deep inside, her first love remained athletics, and in 2014 she returned to the track, winning multiple national titles in the men’s category. Even then, her real race had yet to begin.
2024,
Italian,
Italy,
Valentina Petrillo,
Original title: "Travaglio. Genesi di una donna transgender" (Travaglio: The Genesis of a Transgender Woman) by Eva Carieri.
Eva Carieri’s new book Travaglio. Genesi di una donna transgender (Travaglio: The Genesis of a Transgender Woman) is a raw and unfiltered account of intolerance, drugs, sex, and violence in an Italy that has rarely been spoken about with such honesty. It is a narrative that does not shy away from the darker corners of life but instead confronts them, showing how the search for love can persist even when everything seems hostile and unforgiving. Beyond fear and beyond prejudice, Carieri writes about survival, self-discovery, and the fragile yet resilient pursuit of dignity.
This book comes after her 2022 autobiography Eva. Il prezzo dell’ambizione. La ricerca dell’amore nonostante tutto, oltre il pregiudizio (Eva. The Price of Ambition. The search for love despite everything, beyond prejudice). In that first work, she chronicled her personal journey, balancing ambition with the costs of being true to herself. The new book can be read as a continuation and deepening of that story, taking readers further into the formative experiences and struggles that shaped her into the woman she is today.
2025,
Eva Carieri,
Italian,
Italy,
Original title: "Je suis Sofia" (I am Sofia) by Céline Gandner.
Je suis Sofia, I am Sofia, resonates like a powerful affirmation, a declaration of identity that refuses to be silenced. In her heartfelt and deeply personal narrative, Céline Gandner invites readers to witness the gender transition of Sofia, the eldest child in a traditionally Catholic family living in Rome. Told with intimacy and emotional honesty, the story unfolds from within the family’s inner circle, capturing the raw complexity and profound courage involved in Sofia’s journey.
The narrative’s strength lies in its closeness to its characters. Céline Gandner, the author and screenwriter, draws readers inside the intimate family dynamics, allowing us to experience the transition not as distant observers, but as empathetic participants. The story begins in 1996, when Céline, then a young au pair, cared for two little Italian boys: Edoardo, aged five, and Amedeo, just eighteen months old. At that time, Céline was unaware of the monumental journey ahead.
Fast forward twenty-one years. Céline returns to Rome to reconnect with the family she once cared for. The children, the bambini, have grown, yet Céline is unaware of the secret that has reshaped their lives.
Original title: "Tierra amarga" (Bitter Land) by Kayla Casanova.
"Kayla's journey begins in the south of dark Italy in the 80s. As a being of light that she has been since she was born, she decided to seek her true happiness. Always happy, positive and with a different vision of life, she will manage to overcome the obstacles that she will encounter from bullying, anorexia, homophobia, transphobia and all the other phobias that will come across in her life.
But nothing manages to break her goal, but instead gives her energy to turn her into what she is today, a being of peace, with enough spark and strength to face any setback that she or those around her may suffer."
2022,
Italy,
Kayla Casanova,
Spanish,
Full title: "Italian Trans Geographies" by Danila Cannamela, Marzia Mauriello, and Summer Minerva.
"To my knowledge, this collection is absolutely unique-and, for that reason, absolutely vital. Over and over again, I was impressed with how smart it is. Besides being accessible to audiences both inside and outside of the academy, the movement across gender studies, anthropology, history, and political activism is also useful. I learned a lot by reading this anthology, and it really challenged me to think about the relationship between my own Sicilian American identity, gender, and sexuality, and the possibilities they might present for future projects and encounters, both scholarly and personal." - John Champagne, author of Queer Ventennio: Italian Fascism, Homoerotic Art, and the Nonmodern in the Modern
2023,
Danila Cannamela,
English,
Helena Velena,
Italy,
Marzia Mauriello,
Porpora Marcasciano,
Romina Cecconi,
Summer Minerva,
"AntoloGaia: Queering the Seventies, A Radical Trans Memoir (Other Voices of Italy)" is the English language edition of "AntoloGaia. Vivere sognando e non sognare di vivere: i miei anni Settanta" by Porpora Marcasciano.
"In this stirring memoir by a member of the first generation of LGBTQ+ activists in Italy, Porpora Marcasciano tells her story and shares the struggles and accomplishments of her fellow activists who achieved so much in the 1970s yet suffered devastating losses during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. AntoloGaia offers an insider’s look at the beginnings of the gay liberation movement in Italy and reveals how it was intimately intertwined with other forms of left-wing activism.
2023,
English,
Italy,
Porpora Marcasciano,
