How to Be Ace: Rebecca Burgess's Graphic (As in Panels, Comic-Book Style) Memoir of Growing Up Asexual

How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual by Rebecca Burgess

"When I was in school, everyone got to a certain age where they became interested in talking about only one thing: boys, girls and sex. Me though? I was only interested in comics."

Growing up, Rebecca assumes sex is just a scary new thing they will 'grow into' as they gets older, but when they leaves school, starts working, and does grow up, they starts to wonder why they doesn't want to have sex with other people.

In this brave, hilarious and empowering graphic memoir, we follow Rebecca as they navigate a culture obsessed with sex - from being bullied at school and trying to fit in with friends, to forcing themself into relationships and experiencing anxiety and OCD - before coming to understand and embrace their asexual identity.

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Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (An ALA Alex Winner, Naming It a Book for Adults That Will Have Teen Appeal)

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

The School Library Journal starred review said, "It's also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand."

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Brave Face - A memoir: How I Survived Growing Up, Coming Out, and Depression by Shaun David Hutchinson

Brave Face: A Memoir: How I Survived Growing Up, Coming Out, and Depression by Shaun David Hutchinson

“I wasn’t depressed because I was gay. I was depressed and gay.”

Shaun David Hutchinson was nineteen. Confused. Struggling to find the vocabulary to understand and accept who he was and how he fit into a community in which he couldn’t see himself. The voice of depression told him that he would never be loved or wanted, while powerful and hurtful messages from society told him that being gay meant love and happiness weren’t for him.

A million moments large and small over the years all came together to convince Shaun that he couldn’t keep going, that he had no future. And so he followed through on trying to make that a reality.

Thankfully Shaun survived, and over time, came to embrace how grateful he is and how to find self-acceptance. In this courageous and deeply honest memoir, Shaun takes readers through the journey of what brought him to the edge, and what has helped him truly believe that it does get better.

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Super Late Bloomer: Early Days in Transition - A YA Trans Comic Memoir

Super Late Bloomer: Early Days in Transition by Julia Kaye

Instead of a traditional written diary, Julia Kaye has always turned to art as a means of self-reflection. So when she began her gender transition in 2016, she decided to use her popular webcomic, Up and Out, to process her journey and help others with similar struggles realize they weren’t alone.

Julia’s poignant, relatable comics honestly depict her personal ups and downs while dealing with the various issues involved in transitioning—from struggling with self-acceptance and challenging societal expectations, to moments of self-love and joy. Super Late Bloomer both educates and inspires, as Julia faces her difficulties head-on and commits to being wholly, authentically who she was always meant to be.

You can watch this episode of Nerd Out with Jessie Gender where Julia spoke with Jessie about the web comic and the book, as well “the forgotten nuances and everyday struggles of transitions that are never discussed by the general public, as well as what it means to be transgender once you finish the major steps in your transition.”

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One Of These Things First - A Coming of Age and Coming Out Memoir by Steven Gaines

One Of These Things First by Steven Gaines

Steven is 15 years old, growing up in 1960's Brooklyn. This memoir follows his trajectory from his grandparent's bar and girdle store to, after a failed suicide attempt, a private room in one of the most exclusive psychiatric hospitals in the world. Here Steven meets a brilliant young psychiatrist who promises to cure him of his homosexuality and provide him with the normalcy he longs for. At the hospital he also meets a Broadway producer, the husband of superstar Mary Martin, who opens a new world for him, an editor who claims she was President John F. Kennedy's lover, and other eccentric, wealthy neurotics, who make him feel like "Eliza Doolittle at the psycho country club."

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The Thousand-Petaled Lotus: Growing Up Gay In The Southern Baptist Church - a memoir by Michael Fields

The Thousand-Petaled Lotus: Growing Up Gay In The Southern Baptist Church By Michael Fields

It's a story that starts on the first day of creation, leaps ahead quickly to Fields’ childhood in Nashville, Tennessee (the Buckle of the Bible Belt), and follows him through his high school years. Along the way, he shares stories of his sexual awakening and awareness, beginning with his first crush — on a comic book hero — when he was age four, and continuing through an adolescence filled with anguished prayers that Jesus would cure him of homosexuality.

The Thousand-Petaled Lotus is a gay coming-of-age narrative that is distinctly Southern in character, yet the story of Fields’ personal and spiritual journey poses universal questions and shares experiences that everyone can appreciate, and does so in a unique way. In the Hindu tradition, the thousand-petaled lotus is another name for the sahasrara chakra, the uppermost energy center in the body, which blossoms at the moment of enlightenment. The Thousand-Petaled Lotus is structured as just that, a lotus of many petals unfolding. Fields’ journey to reconcile his faith with his sexuality is a captivating story that blossoms when he finds what Jesus called “the kingdom of heaven” and discovers that it is nothing more – and nothing less – than the present moment.

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Honor Girl - A Graphic Memoir about First Love, and First Heartbreak, at an All-Girl Camp

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash

Maggie has spent basically every summer of her 15-year-old life at the 100-year-old Camp Bellflower for girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She's from Atlanta, she's never kissed a guy, she's into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of pleasant, peaceful nothing... until one confounding moment.

A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin.

But Camp Bellflower is an impossible place for a girl to fall in love with another girl, and Maggie's savant-like proficiency at the camp's rifle range is the only thing keeping her heart from exploding. When it seems as if Erin maybe feels the same way about Maggie, it's too much for both Maggie and Camp Bellflower to handle, let alone understand.

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The Reappearing Act: Coming Out As Gay On a College Basketball Team Led By Born-Again Christians – A Memoir By Kate Fagan

The Reappearing Act: Coming Out As Gay On A College Basketball Team Led By Born-Again Christians by Kate Fagan

It's hard enough coming out, but playing basketball for a nationally ranked school and trying to figure out your sexual identity in the closeted and paranoid world of big-time college sports--that's a challenge.

Kate Fagan's love for basketball and for her religious teammates at the University of Colorado was tested by the gut-wrenching realization that she could no longer ignore the feelings of otherness inside her. In trying to blend in, Kate had created a hilariously incongruous world for herself in Boulder. Her best friends were part of Colorado's Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where they ran weekly Bible studies and attended an Evangelical Free Church. For nearly a year, Kate joined them and learned all she could about Christianity--even holding their hands as they prayed for others "living a sinful lifestyle." Each time the issue of homosexuality arose, she felt as if a neon sign appeared over her head, with a giant arrow pointed downward. During these prayer sessions, she would often keep her eyes open, looking around the circle at the closed eyelids of her friends, listening to the earnestness of their words.

Kate didn't have a vocabulary for discussing who she really was and what she felt when she was younger; all she knew was that she had a secret. In "The Reappearing Act," she brings the reader along for the ride as she slowly accepts her new reality and takes the first steps toward embracing her true self.

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I Am Jazz - A Picture Book About A Transgender Child That I Wish Had Been Read To Me When I Was A Little Kid

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boy's clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who diagnosed Jazz as transgender and explained that she was born this way. 

I really liked this child-focused and very appropriate-for-the-age title from Dial Books For Young Readers!

As we read it, my child asked why the book didn't include Jazz's original, boy name. This got us into a great discussion about how knowing Jazz's old name that didn't match who she was might have overshadowed the story of who she is. After all, who would want to be referred to by a name that didn't feel right?

Definitely a picture book that I wish had been read to me when I was a little kid, and that I'm so grateful I could read to my child, today.

My thanks to Yapha for the heads-up on this one!

Lesbian Crushes At School - A Memoir In Diary Form

Lesbian Crushes At School: A Diary by Natasha Holme

In 1983 thirteen-year-old Natasha is in love with her French teacher, Miss Williams. When Natasha is cruelly banished from Miss Williams's class forever, the love develops into obsession ... stalking ... unhealthy behaviour ... and painfully misguided cries for attention.

This uncomfortable yet light-hearted memoir in diary form is primarily a record of obsession.

Natasha is a love-sick lesbian teenager in an all-girls school in the eighties, juggling her Latin homework, Bible study, a crush on Elaine Paige, and her suppressed sexuality. How can she make sense of it all?

But more importantly ... tormented by unrequited love ... how can Natasha make Miss Williams love her back?

This is the prequel to the author's also self-published "Lesbian Crushes and Bulimia: A Diary On How I Acquired My Eating Disorder." Add your review of "Lesbian Crushes at School: A Diary" in comments!

Two Spirits, One Heart: A Mother's Day Gift For Us All

Mother's Day is Sunday, so this is the perfect time to share about:

Two Spirits, One Heart by Marsha Aizumi with Aiden Aizumi

Mother, educator, and LGBT activist Marsha Aizumi shares her story of parenting a young woman who came out as a lesbian, then transitioned to male. Marsha's personal journey was from fear, uncertainty, and sadness to eventual unconditional love, acceptance, and support of her child who struggled to reconcile his gender identity.

Two quotes from Marsha's introduction in the book need to be shared:

"May the thoughts I am sharing encourage you to continue to love your child no matter what and may this book serve to inspire you to release the fear and embrace the love you have for your child."

and

"This journey with Aiden has made my life so much richer. It has deepened my appreciation for my husband and brought me closer to my younger son, Stefen. I am living the life I dream, and I am living it because Aiden had the courage to say, "This is who I am."

Marsha Aizumi and her son, Aiden

I interviewed Marsha last year, and you can watch that video here. Add your review of "Two Spirits, One Heart" in comments!

An Unspoken Compromise - A Transgender Memoir

An Unspoken Compromise by Rizi Xavier Timane, Ph.D, ASW.

Rizi Xavier Timane, PhD, ASW, is a Nigerian-born transgender minister and certified grief recovery specialist residing in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in an extremely religious Christian home and was subjected to multiple exorcisms and other reparative attempts by his family and the church to “pray the gay away.” An Unspoken Compromise takes you through his journey of self-discovery and spiritual exploration including:

· Coming out as a trans boy at eight years old
· Identifying as a lesbian in homophobic Africa
· Transitioning while facing societal and family rejection
· The religious persecution and bullying he has suffered all along

Rizi’s message to the LGBT community is twofold. First, be your authentic self—it’s the only way to inner peace and happiness. Second, if you are in search of a relationship with God, a spiritual path to unconditional love and acceptance does exist for you free from condemnation and negative judgment.

This book was published by the author. Add your review of "An Unspoken Compromise" in comments!

Barriers To Love: Embracing A Bisexual Identity - A Memoir about coming of age and overcoming the struggle with family, society, Latino culture and self to accept one's bisexual identity

Barriers To Love: Embracing A Bisexual Identity by Marina Peralta

Set in Mexico and California, BARRIERS TO LOVE traces how early sexual abuse in Marina's childhood led to her sexual confusion in adolescence. Jilted by her first boyfriend, comforted by a lesbian girlfriend and controlled by her widowed mother, she married an emotionally detached man, only to find love with a woman later in life.

The author Marina Peralta is a San Diego-based psycho-therapist who specializes in the treatment of young adults, adults, and families dealing with sexual identity issues and abuse. In her memoir Marina employs her own compelling life story to address the myths and facts of bisexual identity and to explore the concept of sexual fluidity.

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This Is How You Say Goodbye - A Memoir Of A Daughter's Struggle to Make Sense Of Her Relationship With Her Gay Father Who Died Of AIDS When She Was A Child

This Is How You Say Goodbye by Victoria Loustalot

When Victoria was eight years old her father swept her up in a fantasy: a trip around the world. It was a grandiose plan and she had fallen for it. But it had never been so much as a possibility. Victoria’s father was sick. He was HIV positive and soon to fall prey to AIDS. Three years later he would be gone.

When Victoria realized that the grand trip with her father wasn’t going to happen, she was devastated. Her mother assumed she’d get over it, that eventually it would become just a shrug. But it didn’t. In the years to come, Victoria wondered what it would have been like to have been alone with her dad all those months, to see him outside of his sickness, beyond anything related to their family or their life. To have been with him in a new context. That’s what she wanted. And that’s what she did.

Some fifteen years after that initial promise, Victoria went to Stockholm, to Angor Wat, and to Paris. She went to the places they were meant to see together, and she went to make peace with her father, too. Because while he’d always be forty-four, she’d gone on accumulating birthdays. Every year, her understanding of him continued to evolve and their relationship was still alive. Victoria Loustalot felt trapped beneath all of the unanswered questions he left behind. She needed to be set free. She needed to say goodbye.

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Fairyland: A Memoir Of My Father - a young girl grows up in 1970s and 80's San Francisco with an openly gay Father

Fairyland: A Memoir Of My Father by Alysia Abbott

After his wife dies in a car accident, bisexual writer and activist Steve Abbott moves with his two-year-old daughter to San Francisco. There they discover a city in the midst of revolution, bustling with gay men in search of liberation — few of whom are raising a child.

From the Towleroad review by Garth Greenwell, "Four months after her father died of AIDS-related causes in 1992, Alysia Abbott found the diaries he kept over the twenty years he raised her as a single father. She quotes from those diaries extensively in her account of their life together, along with his poems and letters and wonderful comics, and it’s Abbott’s use of her father's writing that gives much of this sometimes searing book its force, making for one of the most powerful accounts of a father-child relationship I've read."


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Forgery Of The Month Club - A Memoir full of LGBTQ Family Members

Forgery of the Month Club by Keith L.T. Alexander

Keith is an African-American Jewish boy growing up in 1960s Chicago in a white community.  Along with his sister, Lin, he spends much of his time under the watch of their mother’s closest friends: a band of carefree homosexuals who wished to disassociate themselves from the pains of society. Keith’s “aunts” and “uncles” as he affectionately called them cared for him like family and filled a void in Keith’s underdeveloped support system while his mother was out stealing and his father was not around.

Recommended for "mature teen readers" and up.  Add your review of "Forgery of the Month Club" in comments!

I Used To Think I'd Make A Good Boy - a short form memoir about growing up Gender Queer

I Used To Think I'd Make A Good Boy by Carol Little

Growing up in Summerside PEI wasn’t easy for author Carol Little. In fact, it was hell. Constant bullying over her boyish looks and the fact that she wasn’t ‘girly’ enough made her teen years almost unbearable. Once she started to question her sexuality, realizing she liked girls more than boys, life was near impossible.

Straightforward and unflinchingly honest, I Used to Think I’d Make a Good Boy takes readers back to Little’s childhood and adolescence, a time when she was trying to find her identity amid bullies and bigots and those who just didn’t get a girl who thought she'd make a good boy.

Partial proceeds will go toward AIDS PEI.  Add your review of "I Used To Think I'd Make A Good Boy" in comments!

They Call Me A Hero - A Young Gay Man's Memoir

They Call Me A Hero: A Memoir of My Youth by Daniel Hernandez

When Daniel Hernandez Jr. was twenty-years-old he was working as an intern for U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. On January 8, 2011, during a “Congress on Your Corner” event, Giffords was shot. Daniel Hernandez’s quick thinking helped to save Giffords’s life until the paramedics arrived and took her to the hospital. Hernandez’s bravery and heroism has been noted by many, including President Barack Obama.

But while that may have been his most well-known moment in the spotlight, Daniel Hernandez is a remarkable individual who has already accomplished much in his young life and is working to achieve much more. This memoir explores Daniel’s life, his character, and the traits that a young person needs to rise above adversity and become a hero like Daniel.

Daniel says, “Although I humbly deny the title of Hero I am honored to be able to share my story with people in the hope that it will inspire them to overcome whatever obstacles they may have in their life and devote themselves to the service of human kind.”

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Impossibly Glamorous: A Memoir of "How A Misfit From Kansas Became An Asian Sensation"

Impossibly Glamorous: How A Misfit From Kansas Became An Asian Sensation by Charles Ayres

Love the book's tagline: “You can be flat on your ass, but still be a winner.”

Charles Ayres heard plenty of Wizard of Oz jokes growing up in Kansas. After finding himself on some seedy dance floors of Kansas City, his quest for love and glamour − and his penchant for all things Japanese − carried Charles from Dorothy’s homeland to New York to Tokyo.

Impossibly Glamorous follows his exploits with Goth raver lesbians, hot men, and not-so-hot men, culminating in a long term love affair with Japan. His journey from ugly baby to Asian media personality touches on tough issues such as coming out gay in Kansas, domestic violence, substance abuse, and how to bounce back from any kind of adversity with only a faux fur coat and a cavalier skip.

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Letters From The Closet - A Girl's Memoir About Her Relationship With Her Gay Teacher

Letters From the Closet by Amy Hollingsworth

It was an improbable relationship from the start—a high school English teacher, still in the closet, and his best student. From the confines—and protection—of his closet, Amy’s teacher wrote these letters, letters that were read, cherished, answered, and then locked away for years.

Now Amy looks back at the decade of intimate letters that preceded her teacher’s untimely death, collects the shards left by their clumsy, sometimes violent attempts to unmask each other, and counts again the cost of knowing and being known. 

Recommended for older teens.  Add your review of "Letters From The Closet" in comments!