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.
Full title: "Life in Lashes: The Story of a Drag Superstar" by Kita Mean."Hailing from a sleepy eastern suburb of Auckland, Nick Nash grew up feeling like he stood out for all the wrong reasons. It wasn't until he experimented with the art of drag that he found freedom in his fierce and confident alter-ego, Kita Mean.From wild nights partying like there was no tomorrow, to scrounging together delightfully camp costumes on a shoestring budget, buying an iconic cabaret bar with bestie Anita Wigl'it, and competing on the global stage alongside Kiwi and Aussie drag legends in the first season of
2022,
Drag queen,
English,
Kita Mean,
New Zealand,
Full title: "Faking It: My Life in Transition" by Kyle Mewburn."Kyle Mewburn grew up in the sunburnt, unsophisticated Brisbane suburbs of the 1960s and '70s in a household with little love and no books, with a lifelong feeling of being somehow wrong - like 'strawberry jam in a spinach can'. In this book, Kyle describes this early life and her journey to becoming her own person - a celebrated children's book author, a husband and, finally, a woman.This is a heartbreaking, often hilarious, candid true story about what it means to hide from yourself, your partner and the world, and then to attai
2022,
Australia,
English,
Kyle Mewburn,
New Zealand,
Full title: "Georgina Beyer: New Zealand's First Transgender Member of Parliament; The last chapter" by Elizabeth J. Hawks."Beyer took an interest in local politics after moving to Carterton and returning to New Zealand. She initially succeeded in being elected to a local school board. She became the first transgender mayor in the world, the first female mayor of Carterton, the first Mori mayor in the Wairarapa area, and the first transgender person to be elected mayor when she was chosen in 1995.Mark Blumsky, the mayor of Wellington at the time, said that she was "extremely competent at her
2023,
Elizabeth J. Hawks,
English,
Georgina Beyer,
New Zealand,
Full title: "To Thine Own Self be True: The Sea is a Jealous Mistress" by Denise Heather TilIing.According to this review: "Denise Tilling writes of her transition from boyhood in wartime
England to womanhood in the 1990s New Zealand. It is a story of courage and determination: initially the determination to avoid cross-gendered feelings at almost any cost, and, finally, the determination
to live openly as a woman. A casual reader, who by-passed this book because of its uninviting cover and title, would certainly be missing out. Going beyond the cover and title, the reader encounters a story
1997,
Denise Heather TilIing,
Denise TilIing,
English,
New Zealand,
Full title: "A Pictorial Transformation: Him to Her (Transsexual Transition Book 3)" by Racheal McGonigal."This is a pictorial diary of 70+ photos of Andrews's journey to Racheal/Storm. Watch for the smiles once Racheal arrived. The saying a picture is worth a thousand words is shown clearly in this pictorial diary."In 2013, I interviewed Rachel and asked her about the book: "“Pictorial Transformation – Him to Her” is a collection of 70+ photos of my journey and shows it all. “The Transgender guide” is really just a small booklet designed for those who are first starting to ask basic question
2012,
English,
New Zealand,
Racheal McGonigal,
Full title: "Carmen: My Life - As Told to Paul Martin"Carmen Rupe's life story, from schoolboy to successful businesswoman. According to Wikipedia, Carmen Rupe (1936-2011), was a New Zealand drag performer, brothel keeper, and transgender activist, known for being New Zealand's first drag queen to reach celebrity status.Taking the name of the gypsy flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, Rupe became the first Australian Maori to perform as a drag queen. She was arrested many times in New Zealand for wearing female clothes but without being prosecuted because being a drag queen was not illegal in that c
1988,
Carmen Rupe,
English,
New Zealand,
Full title: "The West Coast Has No Feral" by Denise Heather TilIing.Denise Heather TilIing was born in 1938. She is the author of two biography books: "To Thine Own Self Be True" (1997) and "The West Coast Has No Feral" (2003).In "To Thine Own Self Be True" (1997), Denise Tilling describes her birth and upbringing as David. Her escape to a sea life in 1956 was actually no escape at all. How after marriages and adventures, she faced up to her real self and embraced the woman within.
2003,
Denise Heather TilIing,
Denise TilIing,
English,
New Zealand,
Full title: "Change for the Better: The Story of Georgina Beyer as Told to Cathy Casey" by Georgina Beyer and Cathy Casey."George Bertrand was born in 1957, an ordinary boy who was to become an extraordinary woman. As he grew up, George realised he was a woman trapped inside a male body. Once he discovered that men could live as women, Georgina Beyer was born. This book follows that difficult rebirth, Georgina's time working in the sex industry in the 70s and 80s, a brutal rape in Sydney and her liberation by a sex change operation in 1984.Since then, Georgina has achieved acclaim as an
1999,
Cathy Casey,
English,
Georgina Beyer,
New Zealand,
Full title: "Summer Storm (Transsexual Transition Book 2)""Having become the City Girl, Racheal (Storm) had a lot to learn. Racheal went to Perth, Western Australia, where the adventure took off. Meeting Summer Bardot, a then preop TS working as an Escort (not illegal in NZ and Australia), Summer introduced Racheal into the sex industry, Storm was born.Storm was Racheal's working name. Storm learnt about being a female, men sexually, clothes, hair, shoes, style, nails, and more as Summer's pupil.
Filled with sex, fun, drugs, lust, BDSM, travel, money, laughter, men, and sex again, they trave
2012,
English,
New Zealand,
Racheal McGonigal,
Full title: "Country Boy to City Girl (Transsexual Transition Book 1)""The story of Racheal's life. Born a boy, Andrew, growing up as a typical kiwi kid through manhood always knowing there was something different but living up to society's expectations of a man. Leo meant a leader. Head boy at school, 1st XV Rugby team, a staunch front-row prop.A pillar in communities, married and two children. then with the help of the internet, able to discover why there was a comfort in dressing in secret as a female. The trauma of coming out, Gender Reassignment Surgery in Thailand, and finally complete
2012,
English,
New Zealand,
Racheal McGonigal,
Full title: "First Lady: From Boyhood to Womanhood: The incredible story of New Zealand's sex-change pioneer Liz Roberts""Liz Roberts is a Kiwi pioneer; the first person to undergo a full surgical sex change in New Zealand. This inspirational memoir tells the story of how, with the help of medical specialists working in previously uncharted territory, she changed her name, her sex and her legal status in the 1970s, freeing her to live a new life as a woman.The little boy born Gary Roberts in 1950s Christchurch knew from his earliest years that he was different to the other boys. Gary overcame
2015,
Alison Mau,
English,
Liz Roberts,
New Zealand,
Full title: "A Life Lived Twice" by Allyson Hamblett. "A Life Lived Twice is a compelling read because it bears witness to the struggles of disability and gender identity, as well as an incredible sense of celebration of being comfortable in one's skin in the face of society's prejudice and ignorance."I interviewed Allyson in 2014 and this is what she shared with me: "I began my transition in 1998, but was trying to find support from 1996. I met several trans people over those years. CD Rom (now Agender) had started up in Wellington, but I was in the process of returning home to Auckland
2017,
Allyson Hamblett,
English,
New Zealand,
