Janet Mock (1) (1983–)

Fantastic memoir of a woman who was confident in her gender identity from a young age but struggled with family dysfunction, poverty, gender dysphoria and racism. Am absolutely brilliant study of trans living in the United States. I learnt a lot about trans phobia, appropriate language and everyday acceptance.

Surpassing Certainty picks up right where Redefining Realness left off. I appreciated reading about Janet's 20s, and how she learned and grew into herself during them. It's a comfort to a 20-something like myself to see another person describe their struggle. I was surprised at some things, like how long her marriage lasted, because of the way parts of Redefining Realness were framed. Overall, it's a great read, and I'm glad I read it.

Janet's story is such an important one and one I find that more young feminists should read. I appreciate the way she explains her situation, weaving in quotes and data from other sources. I also appreciate the way she makes clear that what she went through is her story, and her story is not the only one out there.

Wonderful memoir. Good pacing, tenderly written. Talks about difficult things in an easy-to-read manner, and even though it descibes hardships and some difficult and dangerous situations, it never breaks your heart.