“Where are you supposed to go when you no longer feel welcome in the places you turned to because you didn’t feel welcome anywhere else?” asked Laura Jane Grace, the lead singer of the rock band Against Me!
Laura Jane Grace was born Tom Gabel, but from an early age she knew that she was not a he. Grace turned to punk rock, anarchism, and her guitar to deal with the trauma of having a hidden self. She desperately wanted to represent as the woman she was, but Grace didn’t know how to begin her very public transition. Drugs and sex became her coping mechanism. During all of it, Grace gave herself a modicum of stability by journaling. From basement shows to Against Me! reaching the top of the charts, Grace journaled. She penned the secrets she didn’t dare speak aloud. These diaries became the basis for Grace’s raw, rock ’n’ roll autobiography. It dishes dirt, goes deep, and leaves the reader breathless but encouraged at the strength we can find in ourselves.
If you’re in the mood for searing honesty, a punk AF book, and a super quick read, check out “Tranny,” by Laura Jane Grace.
Patty Templeton
