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: "Transgender in Nederland: Een buitengewone geschiedenis" (Transgender in The Netherlands: An extraordinary history) by Alex Baker.
In the fifties and sixties, transgender people still had to be grateful if a psychiatrist did not admit them to an institution or administer electroshock; Nowadays, transgender people are often seen as inspiring, courageous people who dare to be themselves.
How the image has changed so much, historian Alex Bakker explains in this book in a clear and involved way. Six decades of physical treatment options, social opinions, legal entanglements, and shifting identities are reviewed. Bakker brings his story to life through the many poignant stories of transgender people, from old pioneers to children and teenagers.
The Netherlands was a forerunner in organizing assistance for transgender people. However, it still has a reputation to uphold worldwide when it comes to social acceptance, scientific research, and medical expertise in this field.
2018,
Alex Baker,
Dutch,
Netherlands,
Full title: "Pantau in India" by Véronique Renard. She is one of the most inspirational women for me.
If Eat Pray Love and The Alchemist had a smart, slightly eccentric Dutch cousin with a penchant for Buddhist philosophy and a flair for gogo-dancing in Bangkok nightclubs, she would be called Pantau. And she would be Véronique Renard. Pantau in India is not your average travel memoir. It’s a very funny as well as deeply sad book that reads like a detective story, not because there’s a murder, but because there’s a mystery: how to live a meaningful life when everything around you says you’re failing. Véronique Renard, a high-achieving career woman in the Netherlands, found herself at the edge of the abyss at the turn of the millennium. Overwhelmed by depression and disillusionment, she considered ending her life. But in her darkest moment, a mysterious inner voice spoke — no, commanded — “Stay alive, and become the happiest person in the world.” Spoiler alert: she listened.
And so begins the winding, mystical, and often hilarious tale of how Véronique traded her office cubicle for a spiritual odyssey through the Himalayas. Her journey took her deep into the heart of India, where she stumbled upon the Tibetan exile community, and into a role she never expected: helping preserve a culture and a cause that would forever transform her life. What started as a quest for personal healing quickly evolved into a deeper mission, bridging worlds, advocating for Tibetan freedom, and rediscovering herself in the rhythm of prayer wheels and mountain winds.
In her own words, from her interview with me, Véronique speaks as someone who no longer clings to external validation: “I create my own life. I would say I feel content and relaxed 95% of the time... Peace, simplicity, and nature are the key ingredients of my personal happiness.”
In 2013, Pantau in India isn’t just a book for women — it’s a book for anyone who has ever felt stuck, broken, or on the brink of giving up. Whether you're questioning your job, your relationships, or your reason to keep going, Véronique’s story is a warm, witty, and wise companion.
As she told me, “My enemy has become my lover” — referring to how straight men once bullied her as a child, but later became admirers of her womanhood. That same transformation, from fear to freedom, pulses through every page of Pantau in India. Part spiritual memoir, part survival manual, and part accidental comedy, Pantau in India will leave you laughing through tears and booking a one-way ticket to wherever your heart needs to go.
Other publications about Véronique Renard:
2007,
English,
Interview,
Netherlands,
Veronique Renard,
Full title: "Alles mag er zijn" (Everything is allowed to be there!)
In this publication, Angela van Bebber presents her life lessons, experiences, and encounters after her gender change.
It is a sequel to "Eindelijk, ik lééf!" (Finally, I'm alive!) from 2009, in which she wrote about her transsexuality.
In the book, Angela covers a new phase. She experienced a lot and got to know herself better. She noticed that after what she went through, her feelings, everything in her life, are right, that everything happens for a reason.
In 2014, I interviewed Angela and I asked her about how she found the courage and energy to cope with all the transition challenges: "I have a lot of strength. All my life I solved all my problems myself. Never had any burnout. Never needed someone to help me out. I was always on my own.
2020,
Angela van Bebber,
Dutch,
Netherlands,
Full title: "Pholomolo: No Man No Woman" by Véronique Renard. She is one of the most inspirational women for me.
In her bestselling 2003 memoir Pantau in India, Véronique Renard captivated readers with her powerful story of abandoning corporate life in the Netherlands to live among Tibetan refugees in the Himalayas. Her tale of spiritual awakening, cultural immersion, and personal transformation read like an exotic, poignant detective story, full of heart, humor, and inspiration.
But as revelatory as Pantau in India was, it left one remarkable chapter of Véronique’s life untold.
In her deeply moving and unflinchingly honest follow-up memoir, Pholomolo: No Man No Woman, Véronique finally opens up about a truth she has lived quietly for over 25 years: her transition from male to female at the age of seventeen. For decades, she never discussed this part of her identity—not with friends, not with family, not even with lovers. But now, in this luminous and courageous memoir, she invites readers into that most intimate and vulnerable space.
The title Pholomolo, a Tibetan word used to describe someone who is neither man nor woman, perfectly encapsulates the spiritual and gender odyssey Véronique has walked. With her signature blend of wit and wisdom, she recounts the pain of growing up in a world that refused to see her for who she truly was, the joys and challenges of transitioning as a teenager, and the curious experience of navigating both the Occidental and Oriental worlds as a transsexual woman in near-invisibility.
The result is a memoir that is as laugh-out-loud funny as it is deeply soul-stirring. Véronique doesn’t just share her story, she reclaims it. From the fear and isolation of her youth to the serene clarity she finds in Buddhism and activism, she writes with candor, grace, and a touch of mischievous sparkle.
As she shared in her 2013 interview with Monika Kowalska on Heroines of My Life, Véronique has always seen herself as “an academic in jeans,” someone more at home in ideas and causes than couture or glamour.
Yet, Pholomolo reveals a quiet radiance that comes not from clothing or makeup, but from daring to live one’s truth unapologetically, every day. Pholomolo: No Man No Woman is not just a transgender memoir. It is a human story, about self-acceptance, about the mysteries of identity, and about the quiet, profound courage it takes to be authentic in a world that doesn’t always understand.
For anyone wrestling with their own journey, whether it’s gender, purpose, or faith, Véronique’s story offers both a mirror and a map.
A journey once cloaked in silence now sings with resonance. This is Véronique Renard as we’ve never seen her before, and perhaps, as she has always truly been.
Other publications about Véronique Renard:
2007,
English,
Interview,
Netherlands,
Veronique Renard,
Original title: "Mevrouw: autobiografische roman" (Madam: Autobiographical Novel)
She lived and wrote with courage and perseverance, but also with fear. Because she grew up in a time when there was no room for women like her. Because she could be 'exposed'. And she was, over and over again. It was Valérie against the world.
"Madam" is published because Valérie is no longer afraid. To show how we dealt with people who do not fit into specific boxes. It's time for her story.
And so it happened that at the age of eighteen, eleven years after child protection placed me under supervision and my parents pledged to take good care of me, I was practically illiterate, without any education, convinced that I was in the wrong body locked up, with a train ticket, seven guilders fifty and a garbage bag of worn-out clothes, returned penniless to the place where I had been taken from when I was seven, under supervision of me, locked up in the wrong body.
2022,
Dutch,
Netherlands,
Valérie Lempereur,
