A random collection of over 2078 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: "Ich bin Charlotte: Mein Weg in ein echtes Leben" (I am Charlotte: My path to a real life) by Charlotte Jasmin Sky Tiberian.
Charlotte Jasmin Sky Tiberian’s autobiography Ich bin Charlotte: Mein Weg in ein echtes Leben is a powerful and unflinching story of a woman who dared to step out of the shadows of a life that never felt like her own. The book opens with the haunting question of what it means to live trapped in a role that does not reflect one’s true self, a question Charlotte wrestled with from childhood into adulthood. From the first pages, she invites readers into her inner world, exposing the struggles of a life filled with uncertainty, silence, and the constant sense of wearing a mask. What follows is not only a deeply personal journey but also a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit when confronted with the need to live authentically.
Charlotte’s story is marked by many turning points, some painful and others liberating. She writes candidly about her childhood, a time shaped by confusion and the heavy weight of expectations that forced her into a role she never chose. The themes of love, loss, depression, and addiction run through her early years, but so does an unshakable longing for truth. With honesty and vulnerability, she traces how these experiences ultimately led her to confront the life-altering realization that she could no longer deny her true identity. Choosing to live openly as the woman she had always been was not a sudden decision but the result of a long and often grueling process of self-discovery.
2025,
Charlotte Jasmin Sky Tiberian,
German,
Full title: "16,000km or so" by tyrnyr x.
In 16,000km or so, tyrnyr x takes the reader on a journey that is at once deeply personal, culturally specific, and universally resonant. This second collection, following Ulysses: an odyssey in poetry, situates itself within the tradition of road narratives, yet it refuses to conform neatly to expectation. Echoes of Kerouac’s freewheeling spirit, Krakauer’s obsession with escape, and Sanchez’s lyrical urgency are evident, but tyrnyr folds them into a distinctly queer landscape of desire, grief, resilience, and laughter. Even Britney Spears’ cinematic detour in Crossroads becomes part of the book’s constellation of influences, reminding us that pop culture has long been a secret map for those looking to find themselves on unfamiliar terrain.
The premise is deceptively simple. Three queer people, bound together in romantic entanglement, take to the highways of the United States in the summer of 2022. What they seek is not just scenery but healing, and what they pursue is not simply freedom but the elusive presence of Tori Amos, that spectral figure of artistry and queer devotion. Yet the road is more than a backdrop; it becomes a living witness to the turbulence of its time. The trip unfolds amid Pride celebrations that feel both defiant and fragile, as monkeypox spreads and the legal aftershocks of Roe v. Wade’s overturning reshape bodies and futures. The specter of Trump’s first presidency lingers even as the country insists it has moved beyond it. The pandemic, still raw, haunts every public space with a reminder of isolation and loss. And, though unspoken in its immediacy, the book exists on the edge of subsequent global crises, capturing a fleeting interval when America felt both exhausted and restless, weary yet still mythologized.
2025,
Australia,
English,
tyrnyr x,
Original title: "Señales: trans*, travesti, no binarie ..." (Signs: trans*, transvestite, non-binary...) by Niki Raveau.
The book Señales: trans, travesti, no binarie...* by Niki Raveau opens a window into lives that are often overlooked, dismissed, or silenced. It is not a conventional chronicle but a vibrant collective portrait shaped through nearly three years of work alongside communities of trans, travesti, and non-binary people in Chile. What emerges is a living testimony that combines photography, storytelling, and personal accounts to build a narrative of identity, struggle, and resilience. Rather than presenting individual biographies in isolation, the book weaves together experiences across different ages and social realities, creating a sense of shared history and continuity. From the voices of children discovering their identities to adults fighting for dignity in the face of marginalization, Señales captures the complexity of lives lived at the intersection of visibility and exclusion.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is the focus on Fundación Selenna, a unique and groundbreaking school project in Chile. Created by families of trans children and youth, Fundación Selenna represents an oasis of recognition and dignity in an often hostile social landscape. By opening their doors to Raveau, they allowed the project to document a space where education becomes a form of resistance, where young trans people can grow without the constant burden of explaining their existence. This perspective makes visible the urgent need for spaces that embrace trans and non-binary identities without forcing them into the margins.
2019,
Chile,
Niki Raveau,
Spanish,
Full title: "Ten Years: A Transexual Memoir" by Tara Hudson.
Tara Hudson’s book Ten Years: A Transexual Memoir is both a profoundly intimate personal narrative and a sharp indictment of the systems that failed her. Written with honesty and urgency, it recounts a decade of her life in which she endured not only the ordinary struggles of living openly as a transgender woman but also the extraordinary injustices of being placed in a male prison despite her identity. What emerges is a powerful chronicle of resilience and survival, but also a plea for compassion, justice, and lasting change.
Hudson begins by reflecting on her childhood and the early awareness that she was different from those around her. She describes the years of self-discovery that followed, including her work as a make-up artist, where she built a career while continuing her transition. Yet the memoir’s most searing sections revolve around her incarceration in 2015, when she was sentenced to prison and initially placed in HMP Bristol, an all-male facility. What should have been a short custodial sentence turned into a national controversy after more than 150,000 people signed a petition demanding that she be transferred to a women’s prison.
2025,
English,
Tara Hudson,
UK,
Original title: "Toda vida importa: uma análise antropológica, sociológica e jurídica sobre os trabalhadores transexuais" (Every life matters: an anthropological, sociological, and legal analysis of transgender workers) by Daniela Miranda Duarte.
Daniela Miranda Duarte’s book Toda vida importa: uma análise antropológica, sociológica e jurídica sobre os trabalhadores transexuais emerges as a necessary and urgent contribution to contemporary Brazilian society. The author begins by carefully introducing conceptual aspects, guiding the reader into a subject that is often surrounded by prejudice, misunderstanding, or silence. She lays the groundwork with clarity, ensuring that even those unfamiliar with the struggles of transgender people can engage with the discussion in a meaningful way. By doing so, she removes barriers of distance and indifference, replacing them with knowledge and empathy.
2020,
Brazil,
Daniela Miranda Duarte,
Portuguese,
Full title: "The Woman Inside: From Outer Space to Inner Peace" by Bobbi Waterman.
There is a rare kind of courage that does not announce itself with fanfare, it moves quietly and persistently through a life lived in service of others, it surfaces in small acts and big decisions alike, and it is the quiet engine behind Bobbi Waterman’s memoir, The Woman Inside: From Outer Space to Inner Peace. This book reads like a voyage, not only across geography and career milestones, but deeper, into the territories of identity, belonging, and what it means to become oneself after a lifetime of roles that were assigned long before the author could consent. If you come for rockets and the steady, exacting world of NASA, you will find them, vivid and technically grounded. If you come for the inner life of transition, you will be met with honesty, nuance, and the kind of reflective clarity that only decades of lived experience can produce.
Waterman organizes her story around a life spent at the edge of human possibility, she spent thirty four years at NASA, a detail that could intimidate a reader who thinks of astronauts and mission control as being far removed from the intimate struggles of gender and self. Yet this is precisely what makes the narrative powerful, the contrast between the institutional, objective world of rocket launches and the deeply personal, subjective world of gender transition creates a tension that the book handles with compassion and intellectual rigor. The tasks of launching payloads, leading teams, and traveling to remote sites around the world become, in Waterman’s hands, metaphors for the stages of self discovery, each mission echoing a small rehearsal for the larger, riskier mission of becoming who she truly is.
2025,
Bobbi Waterman,
English,
USA,
Full title: "Thanuja: A Memoir of Migration and Transition" by Thanuja Singam.
Thanuja: A Memoir of Migration and Transition by Thanuja Singam is a work that defies easy categorisation, because it is at once a story of exile, survival, self-discovery and profound transformation. At its heart is the experience of a Tamil refugee fleeing the violence of the Sri Lankan civil war, making her way first through India and then to Europe. The journey is shaped by political turmoil, family ties and the dislocation that comes with forced migration. Yet woven into this narrative is another journey that is just as urgent and life-altering, the recognition and affirmation of her identity as a woman. The two stories unfold together, making the memoir both a chronicle of geopolitical conflict and a testament to the intimate struggles of gender transition.
Thanuja’s recollections are infused with the pain of displacement and the relentless search for belonging. She describes the bewildering process of adapting to new countries and cultures while carrying the trauma of violence and loss. Her path is not linear. It is filled with moments of confusion, of unexpected pleasures, and of sharp betrayals from people and institutions she hoped might offer understanding. These conflicting experiences shape her gradual acceptance of her womanhood, showing that self-recognition is never a simple act but a process complicated by the expectations and prejudices of others.
2024,
English,
Sri Lanka,
Thanuja Singam,
Original title: "TRANSLUCIDA" (Translucent) by Sebastião Reis Junior.
The book Translúcida by Sebastião Reis Junior emerges as a singular work that blends photography, literature, and social critique to confront the realities of transgender prisoners in Brazil. Composed of thirty-eight photographs of incarcerated transgender women taken by Reis Junior, a minister of the Superior Court of Justice, the book is accompanied by thirty-five texts and two illustrations, all aiming to provoke reflection on human rights, incarceration, and the right to self-identity.
The photographs were captured at the Pinheiros II Detention Center in São Paulo, providing a rare and intimate glimpse into lives often hidden behind prison walls. Reis Junior approaches his subjects with sensitivity and respect, requesting permission to photograph each inmate, ensuring that the images convey dignity rather than exploitation. The book is not intended merely as a photo collection, nor does it confine itself to a discussion of prison conditions. Instead, it uses visual and literary art to spark broader conversations about transgender existence, societal prejudice, and the human experience of those marginalized by both the legal system and social norms. According to the minister, the work seeks to dismantle the silences that surround transgender lives and to illuminate the truths that prejudice and misinformation often obscure. The contributions in Translúcida come from people with diverse backgrounds, including legal professionals, military personnel, doctors, and artists, each expressing their reflections on human rights through the medium of their choice.
2023,
Portuguese,
Sebastião Reis Junior,
Full title: "I Was an Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America" by Sheryl Weikal.
Sheryl Weikal’s memoir I Was an Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America arrives at a moment when public debate about the very existence of transgender children is louder than ever. For years, figures like J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have insisted that trans identities in children are the result of external influence, that young people are not capable of knowing who they truly are, and that transition is always prompted by adults.
Sheryl Weikal’s life story dismantles that narrative with unflinching honesty. Raised in a deeply conservative homeschooling family, she knew from her earliest memories that she was a girl. At eight years old, she even crafted a doll that represented herself in her true gender, a gesture both innocent and profound, one that expressed what words could not yet carry. Her memoir reveals how even the strictest isolation from progressive ideas could not erase her own sense of self.
2025,
English,
Sheryl Weikal,
Original title: "Quando Eu Tinha 35" (When I was 35) by Jon O'Brien.
Quando Eu Tinha 35, or When I Was 35, by Jon O'Brien, is a raw and piercing exploration of a life that reflects the stark realities faced by travestis in Brazil, a population whose average life expectancy tragically hovers around thirty-five years, a figure dramatically lower than the national average of seventy-five. The narrative immerses readers in the life of a travesti who confronts her existence with unflinching honesty, alternating between profound despair and a persistent drive to carve out a life that feels meaningful and worth living.
The story is meticulously structured to trace the protagonist's losses and victories throughout her journey, illustrating both the intimate struggles of identity and the broader societal indifference toward the shortened lifespans of trans and travesti individuals. The curation by Eller Cristine Müller, a travesti poet and writer, and Christopher João, a trans man and activist for LGBTQIA+ rights, amplifies the book's critical lens on social neglect and systemic discrimination, making it not only a personal account but also a pointed social critique.
2021,
Brazil,
Jon O'Brien,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Debbie's Secret Life: The Transgender Experience" by Deborah Ballard.
Deborah Ballard’s Debbie’s Secret Life: The Transgender Experience is not just the story of one girl forced to live in hiding, it is a deeply human account of what it means to carry a truth so profound and yet so dangerous that it must be concealed at all costs. At its heart lies Debbie, a girl with a secret. To the outside world she appears to be a boy. Even her parents are uncertain about her identity, and she quickly learns that revealing the truth could bring consequences so severe that they might cost her everything, even her life. In this world of silence and fear, the question becomes whether she will ever find the strength and freedom to be herself, or whether her struggle will become a catalyst for changing the way the world sees transgender people.
The book weaves together personal testimony, raw emotion, and social critique, offering a voice to the millions of transgender children and adults who have had to live in the shadows. Debbie’s story is not one of fantasy or invention. It comes from the lived experience of Deborah Ballard, an American IT architect consultant, writer, and activist whose own life has been marked by both extraordinary professional accomplishments and the often-painful realities of growing up transgender in a world that did not understand or accept her. She was one of the early pioneers in the commercialization of the Internet during the 1990s, helped advance Linux and Open Source technology in the following decade, and played a key role in globalization initiatives that reshaped international business. Yet behind those achievements was the secret life of a girl who knew her identity from the age of two but was forced to conceal it.
2012,
Debbie Ballard,
Deborah Ballard,
English,
Interview,
Full title: "One Perfect Daughter: He Was The Perfect Son. Until She Wasn't" by Jane Foster.
This memoir by Jane Foster titled One Perfect Daughter: He Was The Perfect Son. Until She Wasn’t is a wrenching, honest chronicle of how a family comes apart and slowly, painfully reassembles itself around a child’s truth. Foster begins from a place many parents know well: pride in an accomplished son, admiration for his brilliance, hopes for his future.
Julian is smart, well‐behaved, full of promise. She loves him, expects him to follow the path she and so many others imagine for a child like him. Then one evening across the dinner table he hands her a note: “Please don’t be disappointed. This doesn’t change who I am.” She reads, confused. He says, “I’m transgender.” That moment becomes a fulcrum on which everything tilts. The future she saw for Julian, the person she thought she knew, begins to shift, to slip in ways she does not yet understand. The story that follows is raw. Uninhibited. Foster allows us into the collapse of her certainties. She admits to shock, grief, confusion. She grapples with what it means for her child to change identity, how that affects their relationship, how it changes her view of herself as a mother. The emotional currents are turbulent. There is denial, there is acceptance, there is resistance, there is reconciliation. There are late‐night arguments, anguished tears, moments of fierce love that transcend everything else.
2024,
English,
Jane Foster,
Original title: "Transgender" by Adam Suchý and Alena Vernerová.
The book Transgender by Adam Suchý and Alena Vernerová presents an intimate, open, and honest conversation between a mother of a transgender child and a clinical psychologist who has spent nearly two decades working with transgender individuals undergoing medical transition. This topic has become one of the most discussed in recent years, generating intense emotions, polarizing opinions, and a mixture of myths, ideologies, ignorance, and prejudices.
Transgender issues intersect with social, legal, diagnostic, and global changes, making them both highly visible and deeply personal. Through an engaging dialogue, the book offers the latest knowledge, research findings, personal experiences, and stories, acknowledging that while not all answers are known, the courage to ask the questions is invaluable. It is intended for anyone affected by transgender topics, not just transgender people themselves, but also their parents, siblings, teachers, professionals in helping roles, and a broader professional audience interested in understanding the contemporary world more fully.
Full title: "Do You Still Like Football: From Harley-Riding Rancher to Fashion Icon: A Journey of Courage and Reinvention" by Andrea Leigh.
Andrea Leigh’s memoir Do You Still Like Football: From Harley-Riding Rancher to Fashion Icon: A Journey of Courage and Reinvention is a story that refuses to fit neatly into one category. It is part life story, part manifesto, part guide to self-discovery, and part love letter to authenticity. What begins as the account of a rancher, husband, father, and pharmaceutical executive soon unfolds into something far deeper: the journey of a woman who dared to look into the mirror and acknowledge a truth that had been waiting for her all along.
By all standard measures, Andy, as she was known then, had built the American Dream. A successful career in the pharmaceutical industry brought security, while a marriage and family life on a ranch grounded in sustainable practices offered both beauty and meaning. Yet beneath the outward picture of success was a persistent sense of incompleteness, a quiet calling toward something more. That unspoken longing would eventually lead Andrea to confront herself with honesty, vulnerability, and ultimately, courage.
2024,
Andrea Leigh,
English,
Original title: "Transradioativa: Você me conhece porque tem medo ou tem medo porque me conhece?" (Transradioactive: Do you know me because you're afraid, or are you afraid because you know me?) by Valéria Barcellos.
“Transradioativa: Você me conhece porque tem medo ou tem medo porque me conhece?” by Valéria Barcellos is a powerful and deeply personal work that transcends conventional autobiographical writing. In this book, Valéria, a black trans woman, singer, actress, DJ, performer, writer, and visual artist, shares her lived experiences with unflinching honesty and artistry.
Her life story is inseparable from the broader struggles of trans and Black communities in Brazil, and her work embodies transnegritude and transfeminism with an intensity that challenges readers to confront their own assumptions and fears. Valéria’s recognition as a Mulher Cidadã, the highest honor awarded to women in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, underscores her role as a trailblazer not only in the arts but in social advocacy, making her story one of resistance, resilience, and radical affirmation of identity.
2020,
Portuguese,
Valéria Barcellos,
Full title: "Dance Naked with God" by Barbara Marie Minney.
Barbara Marie Minney’s Dance Naked with God is a collection that challenges readers to immerse themselves in the raw, multi-layered rhythms of human emotion. The work unfolds in language that is emotionally fractured yet intricate, each poem resonating with intensity and vulnerability. Partway through, Barbara poses the question, “How do poets love?” and in doing so, she invites readers to consider love not as a simple, singular experience but as a force that is complicated, all-encompassing, and profoundly human.
Her poems teem with imagery that overlaps and interlocks like scales, creating a shimmering, chameleon-like effect that captures the kaleidoscope of introspection, desire, and spiritual seeking. By the final poem, the reader is left with a sense of renewal, an awareness that passion, grief, and joy can coexist in the same space, transforming the self in subtle yet profound ways. These poems do not offer a neat answer to the question of how poets love, but they illuminate the depth and ferocity of poetic devotion, the ways it can challenge and expand one’s understanding of intimacy, identity, and faith. Reading the collection, I found myself transported into moments of ecstatic reflection and quiet revelation, feeling the liveliness of my own resurrection mirrored in Barbara’s words.
2023,
Barbara Marie Minney,
English,
Interview,
Original title: "Die bizarre Welt der Transsexuellen in Wort und Bild" (The Bizarre World of Transsexuals in Word and Image) by unknown author.
The 1980 publication Die bizarre Welt der Transsexuellen in Wort und Bild, translated as The Bizarre World of Transsexuals in Word and Image, offers a controversial and provocative glimpse into the representation of trans women in late 20th-century European erotica.
Ostensibly, the book presents itself as a sociocultural exploration of transsexuality, yet the underlying focus is far more sensationalized than scholarly. It captures a time when the visibility of transgender people was rapidly increasing, but public understanding was minimal and often filtered through prurient or voyeuristic lenses.
Full title: "Am I Trans Enough?" by Cathy Heart.
In a time not too far behind us, transgender people lived largely in silence, invisible to a society that did not yet have the words, understanding, or compassion to grasp their realities. The cultural landscape was bleak, dominated by misconceptions that being transgender was either a sexual preference or a curious lifestyle choice. Into this difficult world came the early life of Cathy Heart, whose book Am I Trans Enough? reflects not only her personal journey but also the broader struggle of transgender individuals trying to find their place in a society that often refused to see them.
Cathy’s story begins in the pre-internet years, a period when information about transgender lives was scarce and communities of support were hard to find. For many, admitting to oneself that they were living in the wrong gender felt almost criminal. Cathy captures this atmosphere vividly, showing what it meant to grow up with an inner truth that could barely be spoken aloud. Her earliest memories stand out with remarkable clarity, such as being four years old and joyfully wearing a dress in her grandmother’s home. That small but powerful moment carried a sense of rightness that never left her, even as life grew more complicated.
2016,
Cathy Heart,
English,
Original title: "La respuesta a todo lo que le preguntarías a una tía trans" (The answer to everything you would ask a trans girl) by Valentina Berr.
Imagine you are at a birthday party. You do not know many people there, and by chance you sit next to a young woman you have never met before. She seems approachable, the conversation warms up, and suddenly you realize she is trans. For many people, this becomes the perfect moment to unload a flood of questions, questions rarely asked with bad intentions, but often intrusive, repetitive, or simply exhausting for the person receiving them. When did you know you were trans? What did your parents say? Have you had surgery? How do you have sex? Don’t trans women have an advantage in sports?
It is this all-too-familiar scenario that inspired Valentina Berr’s La respuesta a todo lo que le preguntarías a una tía trans (The Answer to Everything You Would Ask a Trans Girl), published by Editorial Egales. In this book, Berr flips the script: instead of being cornered by strangers, she takes the initiative and writes down all the answers herself, with humor, warmth, and disarming honesty.
The idea is simple but powerful. Many trans women have experienced being turned into unwilling teachers at social gatherings, forced into conversations about their past, their bodies, and their most intimate details with people they hardly know. Berr acknowledges this paradox, recognizing that the questions will keep coming whether or not she wants them to. So she decides to create a safe space in which curiosity can be satisfied without causing harm. She invites readers to imagine that she is that trans woman at the party, and the book is the conversation you might secretly want to have. But this time, she is in control. “Today, that girl is me, and this book will be that conversation,” she writes. “Here you will find the answers to all the ‘Can I ask you something?’ questions you can think of about being trans.”
2023,
Spain,
Spanish,
Valentina Berr,
Full title: "Sincerely, Katherine.: Life, Gender, Inclusivity, and Leadership for the Future" by Katherine Dudtschak.
There are books that entertain, and there are books that quietly shift the ground beneath your feet. Sincerely, Katherine.: Life, Gender, Inclusivity, and Leadership for the Future belongs to the latter category. It is not only the story of a corporate leader but also the unveiling of a truth so deeply buried that acknowledging it required dismantling an entire life and rebuilding it anew.
Katherine Dudtschak grew up in southern Ontario, the daughter of immigrants who survived World War II camps. Her early life was defined by scarcity, post-war trauma, and the kind of challenges that can press a child into becoming either brittle or unbreakably determined. She chose the latter. Despite learning difficulties and the weight of expectation, she carved out a path into one of Canada’s most competitive industries, rising to the upper echelons of banking. To the outside world, she had it all: four children, a successful career, the respect of peers, and material security. But inside, something essential was missing. The man her colleagues and friends saw was a mask, and behind it lived Katherine, the woman she had always known herself to be.
The turning point came unexpectedly, in the most ordinary of settings: her daughter’s university dormitory. There, on a wall, hung a poster about gender inclusivity. To most passersby, it was a piece of student activism, easily overlooked. For Katherine, it was a mirror. In its language, she recognized herself, the truth she had buried for decades rising suddenly, urgently, irrepressibly. That poster did not just open a door; it unlocked a life.
2026,
Canada,
English,
Katherine Dudtschak,
Original title: "In...confidências mineiras e outras histórias" (Minas Gerais inconfidences and other stories) by Ruddy Pinho.
When we turn to the literature of trans authorship in Brazil, the name Ruddy Pinho inevitably surfaces as one of its earliest and most vibrant voices. Known widely as “A Maravilhosa,” Ruddy was not only a celebrated hairdresser to Brazil’s elite but also a writer who brought her personal history, humor, and resilience into the literary scene. Her book In...confidências mineiras e outras histórias (Minas Gerais Inconfidences and Other Stories), a collection of short stories awarded by the National Library, stands as one of her most important contributions to Brazilian letters, blending sharp social observation with the intimate details of her lived experience.
Born in Sabinópolis, Minas Gerais, and raised in Belo Horizonte, Ruddy Pinho began her working life at just 16, cutting hair in the bohemian quarters of the city. By the 1960s, she had moved to Rio de Janeiro, where her talent, charisma, and bold style quickly made her one of the most sought-after hairdressers in the country. She transformed the look of countless stars, including Marília Pêra, Odete Lara, and Susana Vieira. Her invention of the “lioness cut,” immortalized by singer Simone Bittencourt, became a cultural phenomenon of the 1980s.
Yet Pinho was never confined to one role. She was also an actress, appearing in Neville de Almeida’s Navalha na Carne and later in Leandra Leal’s celebrated documentary Divinas Divas. Her ability to move seamlessly between salon, stage, and screen reflected the same fluidity that characterized her life story.
1999,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Full title: "I Hardly Knew Me: Following Love, Faith, and Skittles to a Transgender Awakening" by Nia Chiaramonte.
In her memoir I Hardly Knew Me: Following Love, Faith, and Skittles to a Transgender Awakening, Nia Chiaramonte offers an intimate portrait of transition that is striking for its immediacy. Rather than narrating her journey from the safe distance of hindsight, she writes from within the unfolding moments themselves, therapy sessions, late-night reflections, family conversations, and the uncertain but luminous steps toward authenticity. The result is a profoundly human book that refuses simplification, capturing the painful, messy, and beautiful process of becoming oneself.
The title itself, I Hardly Knew Me, conveys the heart of Chiaramonte’s story: years of hiding, even from herself. “I used to be so hidden that even I couldn’t see who I was,” she writes, a confession that resonates deeply with anyone who has lived in silence or fear. That silence eventually breaks, sometimes quietly, sometimes with shattering force, in moments like posting her truth online, enduring the echo of responses and silences, and sharing vulnerable conversations with her wife Katie and their children. Through it all, Nia’s voice is both tender and unflinching, guiding readers through her discovery that authenticity is not only possible but necessary for survival.
2025,
English,
Interview,
Nia Chiaramonte,
Original title: "Yo soy mi género: testimonios de mujeres trans migrantes" (I am my gender: testimonies of migrant trans women) by Pedro Reyes García and Fabián Coutiño Cortés.
In recent years, public discourse has placed increasing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Governments, institutions, and social movements alike have pushed for recognition of groups whose lives challenge traditional notions of gender, sexuality, and identity. Yet, despite these shifts, large segments of society remain misunderstood, invisibilized, or reduced to stereotypes. Among them are transgender women, particularly those who migrate in search of safer and freer lives.
It is precisely this intersection of gender transition and migration that shapes the heart of Yo soy mi género: testimonios de mujeres trans migrantes (I Am My Gender: Testimonies of Migrant Trans Women), a book authored by Chilean academics Pedro Reyes García and Fabián Coutiño Cortés.
Published by Editorial Ril with the support of the University of Santiago, the book combines ethnographic inquiry with a deeply human, almost literary narrative, allowing readers to step into the lived experiences of four Latin American trans women who now call Montreal, Canada, their home.
The origins of the project stretch back to a summer day in Montreal. As Dr. Reyes recalls in the book’s introduction, he and Coutiño were walking along the vibrant Sainte Catherine Street when they encountered a striking figure: a middle-aged trans woman performing at Sky, a well-known gay bar, during its Saturday Latin Night. That performer was Liberia, a charismatic artist who would become a central figure in the book and a gateway to meeting other women whose stories would later shape the project.
Full title: "Becoming Jade: A Memoir of Transition, Music, and Self-Discovery: A Memoir of Transition, Music, and Self-Discovery" by EJ Jade Manalo.
In her heartfelt memoir Becoming Jade: A Memoir of Transition, Music, and Self-Discovery, EJ Jade Manalo opens the door to her world with honesty, courage, and a spirit of resilience that is as inspiring as it is humbling. More than a personal narrative, Jade’s book is a beacon for anyone searching for authenticity and strength in the face of adversity.
At its core, Becoming Jade is the story of a young trans woman navigating a world that often seemed unwilling to embrace her for who she was. Growing up with autism added another layer of complexity to her journey, shaping both the challenges she faced and the unique ways she approached them. Jade doesn’t shy away from discussing the realities of transferring between schools with rigid rules and minimal accommodations. These institutions, meant to nurture growth, often became spaces of tension where she had to fight for her right to be herself.
But Jade’s narrative is never one of defeat. Instead, it is about resilience, about finding ways to thrive despite barriers, about discovering moments of joy and independence even when surrounded by misunderstanding. She invites readers to see the world through her eyes, where something as simple as riding an elevator becomes a source of solace and empowerment.
2025,
EJ Jade Manalo,
English,
Original title: "Casa de las muñecas" (Doll's House) by Kenya Cuevas.
Casa de las muñecas (Doll’s House) by Kenya Cuevas is not just a book, it is a manifesto of defiance, a searing testament to human resilience that tears open the wounds of injustice to expose a truth we cannot ignore. Kenya Cuevas, a transgender woman, activist, and symbol of relentless struggle, bares her soul in these pages, recounting a life scarred by rejection, violence, and discrimination. From the horrors of life on the streets to the creation of shelters and safe spaces for the transgender community, this book is the story of a woman who refused to be erased, who rose again and again in the face of a system determined to silence her.
Through unwavering strength, courage, and the support of those who believe in justice, Kenya transformed unimaginable pain into decisive action, exclusion into safe havens, and isolation into a network of support that now saves lives. Casa de las muñecas challenges every reader to confront the structures that perpetuate hatred, to question the world around them, and to take an active role in creating change. It is an urgent, indispensable account of struggle, memory, and dignity in a Mexico wounded by persistent violence.
Kenya Cytlaly Cuevas Fuentes, born in Mexico City on September 5, 1983, is a fearless human rights defender whose activism changed history. She ensured that the transfeminicide of her companion, Paola Buenrostro, became the first case officially recognized as a transfeminicide by Mexico City’s Human Rights Commission in 2019. She founded Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias and Casa Hogar Paola Buenrostro, the first shelter for transgender women in Mexico, and championed the Paola Buenrostro Law, earning national recognition and numerous awards for her tireless advocacy.
2024,
Kenya Cuevas,
Mexico,
Spanish,
Full title: "Free To Be Me: Transitioning at 40" by Dominique Gallaway.
When Dominique Gallaway made the decision at age forty to embrace her authentic self, she wasn’t just making a personal choice, she was writing a radical act of survival and joy into existence. Her memoir, Free To Be Me: Transitioning at 40, is not only a story of transformation but also a testimony of courage, grief, resilience, and the deep beauty of becoming who you always were.
Dominique, a proud Black transgender woman, opens her life to readers with unflinching honesty. For decades, she had lived behind a carefully constructed façade, fulfilling roles others expected of her while secretly carrying the weight of a truth she feared the world wasn’t ready to accept. Like so many transgender women who transition later in life, her silence was not born of weakness, but of survival. Yet, as Free To Be Me reveals, silence can only hold back authenticity for so long.
2025,
Dominique Gallaway,
English,
Full title: "Both Sides of the Great Divide" by Nikita Carter.
Both Sides of the Great Divide by Nikita Carter offers readers an intimate, powerful account of her life’s most profound transformation, a late-in-life awakening to her true self as a trans woman. At the age of 60, after a series of shattering experiences, Carter describes how she was “broken open,” awakening to a new awareness that reshaped her existence and compelled her to live authentically, embracing a truth she had long buried.
More than just a memoir, this book is a testament to resilience, courage, and the relentless pursuit of identity and freedom.
Nikita Carter’s life is steeped in music. A celebrated musician, composer, educator, and producer, her artistry is deeply woven into the fabric of her identity. For decades, she has been a vibrant force in the world of music, touring extensively across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Her blues-drenched, soulful sound is at once haunting and joyous, expressive and unmistakably her own. From early gigs at the age of 16 to performances at renowned jazz festivals and collaborations with some of the most respected figures in jazz and contemporary music, Carter’s career is marked by a commitment to pushing boundaries and exploring new sonic landscapes.
She has worked with luminaries such as Wadada Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell, George E. Lewis, Amina Claudine Myers, Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, Oliver Lake, and Marilyn Crispell, collaborations that have enriched her musical vocabulary and deepened her creative expression.
2024,
English,
Interview,
Nikita Carter,
Original title: "Veni Vidi Vici - Resan Efter: Del 2 - En Självbiografi Av Wilhelmina Rudin" (Veni Vidi Vici - The Journey After: Part 2 - An Autobiography By Wilhelmina Rudin) by Mina Rudin.
In Veni Vidi Vici – The Journey After: Part 2, Swedish author Wilhelmina “Mina” Rudin picks up where her previous volume left off, charting a profoundly human, deeply personal journey of identity, transformation, and resilience. As the title echoes Caesar’s triumphant declaration, I came, I saw, I conquered, Rudin invites readers to witness not just a victory, but a long, courageous path leading toward personal truth and healing.
This is not just a memoir; it's a testament. It's a lived experience, unfolding in real-time, as the author shares her ongoing exploration of self through the lens of medical transition, emotional recovery, and professional reinvention. It is a book about becoming, and all the complications, joys, and reflections that come with it.
2020,
Mina Rudin,
Swedish,
Wilhelmina Rudin,
