Trans - by Juliet Jacques :: Greene & Heaton

In July 2012, aged thirty, Juliet Jacques underwent sex reassignment surgery, a process she chronicled with unflinching honesty in a serialised national newspaper column. TRANS tells of her life to the present moment: a story of growing up, of defining yourself, and of the rapidly changing world of gender politics. Fresh from university, eager to escape a dead-end job and launch a career as a writer, she navigates the treacherous waters of a world where, even in the liberal and feminist media, transgender identities go unacknowledged, misunderstood or worse. Revealing, honest, humorous, and self-deprecating, TRANS includes an epilogue with Sheila Heti, author of HOW SHOULD A PERSON BE?

Reviews

Brave and moving, TRANS is necessary reading for anyone who cares about gender, power, freedom and desire. Juliet Jacques deals with the forces of cruelty and ignorance with a hard-won clarity and calm. A vital voice in our turbulent times.

Olivia Laing

Brutally honest and funny.

Marie Claire

An honest, articulate account of one life so far.

The Guardian

TRANS challenges us all, no matter what our gender or sexuality. Ultimately, it makes us look at our selves, and wonder what price we pay for the identities we assume, or which we have thrust upon us.

New Statesman

Juliet Jacques’s TRANS ... provides a lyrical exploration of her own gender journey against the background of increasing media interest in transgender issues. Thoughtful and intimate, it’s a fine successor to books such as Jan Morris’s CONUNDRUM.

The Guardian, Best Politics Books of the Year

Understated and urgent, Jacques comes across as a woman carrying an ambiguity she doesn’t seem to want or feel able fully to shed ... She confounds the distinction, not just between male and female, but also between the emotional atmospheres which the various trans identities are meant – ‘instructed’ may be the right word – to personify.

London Review of Books

Powerful and engaging. . . it’s hard not to see her as anything other than brave, even as she pushes readers to recognize that what is revolutionary is the very ordinariness of her day-to-day life.

The New York Times

This book is deeply personal, and I remember feeling so connected to Juliet as she discussed not only her transition, but her experiences with mental health, transphobia and navigating the healthcare system. I was completely moved, and still today I reference her book in discussion.

Victoria Chandler, Good Housekeeping

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