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Transgender books

Reading books is one of the best things you can do if you are questioning your gender or cannot take steps to transition yet.

Transition resources

The books listed below are excellent consumer resources for those planning a gender transition.

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (2022 edition)

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (first edition – may be cheaper, but not as up to date.)

Trans Bodies Trans Selves book cover

I’m very proud to have advised on this important book.

Comprehensive Care of the Transgender Patient (2019)

Comprehensive Care of the Transgender Patient book cover

Letters for My Sisters

Letters for My Sisters book cover

I co-edited this anthology of collected wisdom for trans women.

Letters For My Brothers, Megan Rohrer (Editor), Zander Keig (Editor) Jamison Green (Author), Cristopher Bautista (Author), Malcolm Himschoot (Author), Reid Vanderburgh (Author), Elliott Anthony Brooker (Author), Lou Sullivan (Author), Raven Kaldera (Author) A companion book to Letters for My Sisters. Also available from the publisher.

  • In today’s fast paced world, the internet can provide quick answers to personal questions. But when an individual raised by society to live, breathe and look at the world with female eyes transitions to male, some of the most enlightening, helpful and profound advice can only come in retrospect. Letter to my Brothers, features essays from respected transmen mentors who share the wisdom they wish they would have known at the beginning of their journey into manhood. 20% of the proceeds are donated to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Memoirs and nonfiction

These lists are in no way exhaustive. If you feel something should be added, please contact me!

General nonfiction

  • Transgender History — Susan Stryker
  • Transgender Studies Reader
  • Transgender Warriors — Leslie Feinberg
  • Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory — Qwo-Li Driskill
  • ‘O Au No Keia: Voices from Hawai’i’s Mahu and Transgender Communities — Andrew Matzner
  • Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism — Pat Califia
  • Histories of the Transgender Child — Jules Gill-Peterson
  • Transgender Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows – Christine Burns
  • A Short History of Trans Misogyny – Jules Gill-Peterson
  • Before Trans: Three Gender Stories from Nineteenth-Century France – Rachel Mesch
  • Before Gender — Eli Erlick
  • Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender – Kit Heyam
  • Trans Historical – Edited by Greta LaFleur & Masha Gessen
  • Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity – C. Riley Snorton
  • Female Husbands: A Trans History – Jen Manion
  • The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes – Zoë Playdon
  • Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR): Survival, Revolt, and Queer Antagonist Struggle – Sylvia Rivera
  • The First Man-Made Man – Pagan Kennedy
  • So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color — Caro de Robertis

Selected gender diverse memoirs

  • Gender Queer: A Memoir — Maia Kobabe
  • Sissy — Jacob Tobia
  • Autobiography of an Androgyne — Jennie June
  • Me, Myself, They: Life Beyond the Binary — Luna M. Ferguson
  • Nonbinary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity — Micah Rajunov & Scott Duane [editors]
  • Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir — Akwaeke Emezi
  • Hijab Butch Blues — Lamya H.
  • The Third Person — Emma Grove
  • In Their Shoes: Navigating Non-Binary Life — Jamie Windust
  • The Natural Mother of the Child — Krys Malcolm Belc
  • Nonbinary Gender Identities — Charlie McNabb

Selected transfeminine memoirs

  • She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders — Jennifer Finney Boylan
  • Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us — Jennifer Finney Boylan
  • I Heard Her Call My Name — Lucy Sante
  • Horse Barbie: A Memoir of Reclamation — Geena Rocero
  • Yes, You Are Trans Enough — Mia Violet
  • Fairest: A Memoir — Meredith Talusan
  • The Black Trans Prayer Book — Dane Figueroa Edidi
  • The Apartheid of Sex — Martine Rothblatt
  • Being Jazz — Jazz Jennings
  • Females: A Concern — Andrea Long Chu
  • Super Late Bloomer — Julia Kaye
  • Transgender Warriors — Leslie Feinberg
  • Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us — Kate Bornstein
  • Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More — Janet Mock
  • My Story — Caroline Cossey
  • Conundrum — Jan Morris
  • Branded T — Rosalyne Blumenstein
  • Hidden in Plain Sight — Leslie Townsend
  • Mom, I Need To Be a Girl — Just Evelyn
  • Wrapped In Blue: A Journey of Discovery — Donna Rose
  • Mark 947 — Calpernia Addams

Selected transmasculine memoirs

  • Man Alive – Thomas Page McBee
  • Amateur – Thomas Page McBee
  • Pageboy: A Memoir – Elliot Page
  • Becoming a Visible Man – Jamison Green
  • Top to Bottom: A Memoir and Personal Guide Through Phalloplasty – Finlay Games
  • Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard – Alex Bertie
  • Transmission – Alex Bertie
  • Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place – Jackson Bird
  • A Trans Man Walks into a Gay Bar: A Journey of Self (and Sexual) Discovery – Harry Nicholas
  • Becoming Him: A Memoir – Landa Mabenge
  • Out of the Ordinary – Michael Dillon
  • Once a Girl, Always a Boy – Jo Ivester
  • We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Diaries of Lou Sullivan – Lou Sullivan
  • Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits – Loren Cameron
  • Real Man Adventures – T. Cooper
  • Becoming a Man – P. Carl
  • Skip for Your Life – Leo Baker
  • Not Just a Tomboy: A Trans Masculine Memoir – Caspar Baldwin

Fiction

  • Stag Dance — Torrey Peters (stories & novel)
  • Detransition, Baby — Torrey Peters
  • Nevada — Imogen Binnie
  • Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars — Kai Cheng Thom
  • Felix Ever After — Kacen Callender
  • Cemetery Boys — Aiden Thomas
  • Pet — Akwaeke Emezi
  • Bitter — Akwaeke Emezi (sequel to Pet)
  • The Death of Vivek Oji — Akwaeke Emezi
  • The City in the Middle of the Night — Charlie Jane Anders
  • The Four Profound Weaves — R. B. Lemberg
  • I Wish You All the Best — Mason Deaver
  • Meet Cute Diary — Emery Lee
  • Lote — Shola von Reinhold
  • The Subtweet — Vivek Shraya
  • Little Fish — Casey Plett
  • Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl — Andrea Lawlor
  • Confessions of the Fox — Jordy Rosenberg
  • Old Wounds — Logan-Ashley Kisner
  • A Sharp Endless Need — Marisa Crane
  • Glitch Girl! — Rainie Oet
  • When Aidan Became a Brother — Kyle Lukoff
  • A World Worth Saving — Kyle Lukoff
  • A Gentleman’s Gentleman — TJ Alexander
  • Chef’s Choice — TJ Alexander (rom-com)

My personal recommendations

While these items do not focus on practical aspects of transition, I found the following books and film especially interesting, informative and inspirational. I have only listed books I’ve read myself. One notable absence is True Selves by Mildred Brown.

History and politics

Transgender Warriors : Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman, by Leslie Feinberg. (Beacon Press, 1997)

  • Leslie was a genderqueer icon who compiled an excellent overview of transgender people in world history.

Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism , by Pat Califia (Cleis Press, 1997)

  • Pat has written an outstanding outline of trans history in the U.S. since the mid-fifties, focusing on contemporary issues. Scholarly, but not too dry.

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us , by Kate Bornstein (Vintage, 1994)

  • Kate’s style is fun and accessible, and she raises some interesting questions about gender. However, it’s a bit scattered, and she addresses her more compelling issues much more thoroughly and thoughtfully in her follow-up, My Gender Workbook.

Autobiographies

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More, by Janet Mock (Atria Books, 2014).

  • This is a smart and engaging memoir interspersed with great teaching moments about trans history, politics, and theory.

My Story by Caroline Cossey (Faber and Faber, 1991).

  • Caroline’s autobiography tells of her transition and subsequent career as an international model under the name Tula. Her appearance in a James Bond movie and growing fame led to her outing by the British tabloids.

Conundrum (New York Review Books Classics) by Jan Morris (Henry Holt & Co.).

  • Jan is a world-renowned travel writer. She has written a fascinating autobiography recalling her days accompanying the first expedition to scale Mt. Everest, up through her transition and life after.

Branded T by Rosalyne Blumenstein. (First Books, 2003)

Wrapped In Blue: A Journey of Discovery by Donna Rose (Living Legacy Press, 2003).

  • A thoughtful and frank memoir from a soman who was married with children when she decided to transition. She has had one of the more remarkable physical transformations as well. You can find more information about Donna and her book at donnarose.com.

Hidden in Plain Sight by Leslie Townsend

  • Leslie began transition at 19 and lived stealth for 18 years before deciding it was holding her back. 

She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

  • Jenny has written an engaging and often charming account of the joys and difficulties of her transition as a college professor.

Mom, I Need To Be a Girl by Just Evelyn

  • Evelyn helped her daughter transition at 15 and have vaginoplasty at 18. I found this to be a very touching book. Read a free PDF or read it at Lynn Conway’s website.

Mark 947: A Life Shaped by God, Gender and Force of Will by Calpernia Addams

  • Calpernia began transition after a strict religious upbringing and a stint in the Navy. While working as a showgirl, she was thrust into the media spotlight when her boyfriend was murdered by fellow soldiers. 

From Within by Vicky

  • Vicky’s account of transition in her teens is both heartbreaking and uplifting. 

‘O Au No Keia: Voices from Hawai’i’s Mahu and Transgender Communities by Andrew Matzner

  • An interesting collection of 14 first-hand narratives about life in Hawai’i’s mahu and transgender commmunities.

Resources

Transmasc Stories (transmascstories.com)

  • Over 200 first-hand accounts by transmasculine people

The Transfeminine Review (thetransfemininereview.com)

  • Documents the history of transfeminine literature, highlighting lesser known fiction by transfeminine writers

Trans Reads (transreads.org)

  • A collection of writing related to our community. Intermittently offline. [archive]

Dallas Denny (dallasdenny.com)

International Journal of Transgender Health (tandfonline.com)

  • Earlier issues were published by Symposion and Haworth Press.

Renate (temblast.com/renate)

  • A categorized list of books
  • http://www.temblast.com/renate/books1.htm [archive]
  • [NOTE: listed as a dangerous site in 2021 by Norton antivirus]