Adult Non-Fiction

In the small Mexican coastal village of El Roblito, 16-year-old Ñoño lives what seems to be an idyllic existence with his loving family. But he holds a secret. Defying gender norms, Ñoño works up the courage to tell his family he wants to live his life as a woman, a fraught decision in a country shrouded in machismo and transphobia.

Boylan, Jennifer Finney. She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders. New York : Penguin Random House, 2013.
She’s Not There was one of the first works to present trans experience from the perspective of a literary novelist, opening a door to new understanding of love, sex, gender, and identity. Boylan inspired readers to ask the same questions she asked herself: What is it that makes us---ourselves? What does it mean to be a man, or a woman? How much could my husband, or wife, change—and still be recognizable as the one I love?

Hoffman-Fox, Dara. You and Your Gender Identity: A Guide to Discovery. New York : Skyhorse Publishing, 2017.
In this groundbreaking guide, Dara Hoffman-Fox, LPC, accomplished gender therapist and thought leader whose articles, blogs, and videos have empowered thousands worldwide, helps you navigate your journey of self-discovery in three approachable stages: preparation, reflection, and exploration.

Krieger, Irwin. Helping Your Transgender Teen: A guide for parents. Berlin : Imprint, Springer, 2014.
If you are the parent of a transgender teen, this book will help you understand what your child is feeling and experiencing. Irwin Krieger is a clinical social worker with many years of experience helping transgender teens. This book brings you the insights gained from his work with these teenagers and their families. According to the author, “Today’s teens have access to a wealth of information on the internet. Teenagers who are wondering about gender identity soon find out what it means to be transgender or transsexual. Parents, on the other hand, know little about this topic. When a teenager declares he or she is transgender, parents fear that their child is confused and is choosing a life fraught with danger. I wrote this book to help parents of transgender teens gain an understanding of this complex subject.” "Helping Your Transgender Teen" begins with the basic information you and your family need. The central chapters of the book address the fears and concerns most parents of transgender teens share. The final chapters guide you through the steps you can take to discover what is best for your child. Although written for parents, this book is also useful for pediatricians, therapists, educators and others who work with teenagers and young adults. "Helping Your Transgender Teen" provides answers to many of your questions about adolescent gender identity.

Meadow, Tey. Trans Kids: Being Gendered in the Twenty-First Century. Berkley : University of California Press, 2018.
Trans Kids is a trenchant ethnographic and interview-based study of the first generation of families affirming and facilitating gender nonconformity in children. Whereas previous generations of parents sent such children for psychiatric treatment aimed at a cure, these parents agree to call their children new names, allow them to wear whatever clothing they choose, and approach the state to alter the gender designation on their passports and birth certificates. Sociologist Tey Meadow argues that these parents are negotiating gender in new and significant ways, with everyone and everything, from intimates to institutions.

Snorton, Reily. Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity. Minn. : University of Minnesota Press, 2017.
The story of Christine Jorgensen, America’s first prominent transsexual, famously narrated trans embodiment in the postwar era. Her celebrity, however, has obscured other mid-century trans narratives—ones lived by African Americans such as Lucy Hicks Anderson and James McHarris. Their erasure from trans history masks the profound ways race has figured prominently in the construction and representation of transgender subjects. In Black on Both Sides, C. Riley Snorton identifies multiple intersections between blackness and transness from the mid-nineteenth century to present-day anti-black and anti-trans legislation and violence.