Hirons Library : LGBTQ: Biographies & Memoirs

Biographies & Memoirs

Naturally Tan by France, Tan
Call Number: PN2287.F655 A3 2019

ISBN: 1250208661

Publication Date: 2019-06-04

With his trademark wit, humor, and radical compassion, Tan reveals what it was like to grow up gay in a traditional South Asian family, as one of the few people of color in South Yorkshire, England.
It Gets Better by Dan Savage (Editor); Terry Miller (Editor)
Call Number: HQ76.27 .Y68 I74 2012

ISBN: 9780452297616

Publication Date: 2012-01-25

It Gets Better is a collection of original essays and expanded testimonials written to teens from celebrities, political leaders, and everyday people, because while many LGBT teens can't see a positive future for themselves, we can.
Logical Family by Armistead Maupin
Call Number: PS3563 .A878 Z46 2017

ISBN: 0062391224

Publication Date: 2017-10-03

In this long-awaited memoir, the beloved author of the bestselling Tales of the City series chronicles his odyssey from the old South to freewheeling San Francisco, and his evolution from curious youth to ground-breaking writer and gay rights pioneer.
Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings
Call Number: HQ77.8.J47 A3 2016

ISBN: 9780399554643

Publication Date: 2016-06-07

Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents.
Eating Fire by Kelly J. Cogswell
Call Number: HQ75.4.C64|bA3 2014

ISBN: 9780816691166

Publication Date: 2014-03-01

An ex-Southern Baptist born in Kentucky, Cogswell was consumed by the Lesbian Avengers, instigating direct action campaigns, battling cops on Fifth Avenue, mobilizing 20,000 dykes for a march on Washington, D.C., and eating fire--literally--in front of the White House.
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
Call Number: HQ77.8.M63 A3 2014

ISBN: 9781476709123

Publication Date: 2014-02-04

With unflinching honesty and moving prose, Janet Mock relays her experiences of growing up young, multiracial, poor, and trans in America, offering readers accessible language while imparting vital insight about the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of a marginalized and misunderstood population.
She's Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Call Number: PS3552.O914 Z46 2013

ISBN: 9780385346979

Publication Date: 2013-04-30

She's Not There is the story of a person changing genders, the story of a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret; above all, it is a love story.
Close to the Knives by David Wojnarowicz
ISBN: 0679732276

Publication Date: 1991-05-07

David Wojnarowicz gives us an important and timely document: a collection of creative essays - a scathing, sexy, sublimely humorous and honest personal testimony to the "Fear of Diversity in America."
No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell L. Moore
Call Number: HQ76.27.A37 M66 2018

ISBN: 9781568589404

Publication Date: 2019-02-19

Moore is an award-winning writer, a leading Black Lives Matter activist, and an advocate for justice and liberation. In No Ashes in the Fire, he shares the journey taken by that scared, bullied teenager who not only survived, but found his calling.
The New Negro by Jeffrey C. Stewart
Call Number: E185.97.L79 S83 2018

ISBN: 9780195089578

Publication Date: 2018-02-01

In The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, Jeffrey C. Stewart offers the definitive biography of the father of the Harlem Renaissance, based on the extant primary sources of his life and on interviews with those who knew him personally.

Biographies & Memoirs

Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
Call Number: HQ77.95.U6 N87 2016

ISBN: 0812995430

Publication Date: 2016-06-07

When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But by the time Jonas and Wyatt were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt's insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart.
The Man Who Knew Too Much by David Leavitt
Call Number: QA29 .T87 L4385 2006

ISBN: 0393052362

Publication Date: 2005-11-01

Outlines the English mathematician's efforts in devising a programmable calculating machine, his work in cracking the Nazi Enigma code, and how the revelation of his homosexuality led to his tragic imprisonment and suicide.
Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride
Call Number: HQ77.8 .M387 A3 2018

ISBN: 1524761478

Publication Date: 2018-03-06

Sarah McBride is on a mission to fight for transgender rights around the world. But before she was a prominent activist, and before she became the first transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, she was a teenager struggling with her identity.
Balls by Chris Edwards
Call Number: HQ77.8.E33 A3 2016

ISBN: 9781626343252

Publication Date: 2016-10-04

Changing your gender from female to male takes balls. And if you're going to do it in front of 500 coworkers at one of the top ad agencies in the country, you better have a pretty big set!
Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin (Photographer)
Call Number: HQ77.9 .K85 2015

ISBN: 9780763673680

Publication Date: 2015-03-10

Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference.
The Todd Glass Situation by Todd Glass; Jonathan Grotenstein (As told to)
Call Number: PN2287.G5535|bA3 2014

ISBN: 9781476714417

Publication Date: 2014-06-03

A hilarious, poignant memoir from comedian Todd Glass about his decision at age forty-eight to finally live openly as a gay man, and the reactions and support from his comedy pals, from Louis CK to Sarah Silverman.
Kicked Out by Sassafras Lowrey (Editor); Jennifer Clare Burke (General Editor)
Call Number: HQ76.27.Y68 K53 2010

ISBN: 9780978597368

Publication Date: 2010-01-01

In the U.S., 40% of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer(LGBTQ). Kicked Out brings together the voices of current and former homeless LGBTQ youth and tells the forgotten stories of some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens.
Transparent by Cris Beam
Call Number: HQ77.95.U6 B43 2008

ISBN: 9780156033770

Publication Date: 2008-01-14

When Cris Beam moved to Los Angeles, she thought she might volunteer just a few hours at a school for gay and transgender kids. Instead, she found herself drawn deeply into the pained and powerful group of transgirls she discovered.
Intersex (for Lack of a Better Word) by Thea Hillman
Call Number: RC883 .H55 2008

ISBN: 1933149248

Publication Date: 2008-09-01

In first-person prose as intimate as a diary, Thea Hillman redefines memoir in a series of compelling stories that take a no-holds-barred look at sex, gender, family, and community.
Stitching a Revolution by Cleve Jones; Jeff Dawson
Call Number: RC607 .A26 J6573 2000

ISBN: 0062516418

Publication Date: 2000-03-01

Both an important cultural history of the AIDS crisis and an intimate personal memoir, Stitching a Revolution is the story of a man who, besieged by discrimination, death, and despair, found the courage and strength of spirit to conceive and create a unique healing vision-the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Biographies & Memoirs

Just Married by Kevin Bourassa; Joe Varnell
Call Number: HQ1034 .C2 B6873 2002

ISBN: 0299178803

Publication Date: 2002-04-29

Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell made international news headlines and human rights history in January 2001 when they became one of the first gay couples anywhere in the world to be issued a government marriage certificate. Just Married is their account of how they and their church decided to test the Canadian marriage laws, and how they and a lesbian couple agreed to be the ones to make the attempt.
Skin by Dorothy Allison
Call Number: PS3551.L453 Z475 1994

ISBN: 9781563410444

Publication Date: 1994-04-01

Twenty-three impassioned essays exploring Allison's identity—from her childhood in a poor family in South Carolina to her adult life as a lesbian in the suburbs of New York—and her sexuality.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Call Number: PN6727 .B3757 Z46 2007

ISBN: 9780618871711

Publication Date: 2007-06-05

In this groundbreaking, bestselling graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father.
100 Times by Chavisa Woods
ISBN: 9781609809133

Publication Date: 2019-06-25

A catalogue of one hundred incidents of sexism, harassment, and assault from age five to now by Lambda Literary Award finalist, Chavisa Woods.
America's Boy by Wade Rouse
Call Number: HQ75.8 .R675 A3 2007

ISBN: 9780452288010

Publication Date: 2007-03-27

In the tradition of such quirky and smart coming-of-age memoirs as Augusten Burroughs' Running with Scissors and Haven Kimmel's A Girl Named Zippy, America's Boy is an arresting and funny tale of growing up different in America's heartland.
Family Outing by Chastity Bono; Billie Fitzpatrick
Call Number: HQ76.3 .U5 B65 1998

ISBN: 0316102334

Publication Date: 1998-10-01

From Chastity Bono, daughter of Sonny & Cher, heroine of the gay community: the first comprehensive guide to the coming-out process from the perspective of both gays & lesbians & their parents.
James Merrill by Langdon Hammer
Call Number: PS3525 .E6645 Z674 2015

ISBN: 9780375413339

Publication Date: 2015-04-14

Langdon Hammer has given us the first biography of the poet James Merrill (1926-95), whose life is surely one of the most fascinating in American literature.
The Romanian by Bruce Benderson
Call Number: HQ75.8 .B46 A3 2006

ISBN: 1585424781

Publication Date: 2006-02-02

The first American to win the Prix de Flore--one of France's most distinguished literary prizes--presents a wildly romantic, true-life love story sustained by little white codeine pills, a poetic self-awareness, and an unwavering belief in the perfect romance.
For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Still Not Enough by Keith Boykin (Editor)
Call Number: HQ76.2.U5 F67 2012

ISBN: 9781936833153

Publication Date: 2012-08-28

"For Colored Boys" addresses longstanding issues of sexual abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, racism, and homophobia in the African American and Latino communities, and more specifically among young gay men of color. The book tells stories of real people coming of age, coming out, dealing with religion and spirituality, seeking love and relationships, finding their own identity in or out of the LGBT community, and creating their own sense of political empowerment.