Powerful story and performance.

This book started off like a trip down memory lane. I grew up in Gainesville and knew many of the locations and people in it. It's amazing to hear. I felt voyeuristic to be hearing a person I know confess so personally and completely her innermost feelings and experiences. I find myself wishing all the amazing people I've met would write their stories so I could see into their lives and understand them like this. I think everybody has a story worth hearing, and this one is no exception. Definitely not your run of the mill rock star coming of age story. I'm also a huge fan of authors reading their own autobiographies. It makes the experience that much more pleasurable. Thank you Laura for letting us know this part of you.

10 people found this helpful

Required reading for "unlearning" false everything

What made the experience of listening to Tranny the most enjoyable?

This is the first book I've ever read/listened to in its entirety in one sitting. It’s the type that is so important, it will become required reading in college classes across the country some day.
For a community that has been close to my heart AND a topic, I felt somewhat "in the know" about, many years before ever hearing the word "trans-anything; I still have so so much to unlearn. Laura Jane Grace's book will make you laugh, break your heart, and possibly change your life, regardless where you come from on the transgender/transsexual/gender subject. I could not be more grateful to Grace for being willing to share her personal story of what gender dysphoria & transitioning feels like, especially in the days before the internet or resources were available, and kids were left to suffer in silence and/or isolation.
I also loved the book because I too grew up on punk rock & have always despised the ridiculous notion of one dictating to another who and/or what is "real" punk, but didn't realize how many people actually suffer (and I mean suffer) because of it.
I related to her love for travel, living in a hotel, and dealing with the politics of playing with other bands. I mostly connected being on tour & traveling around the country in a van. The few times I got to go out on the road as crew member for a band of close friends was the best time of my life, so I already love memoirs like Rollin's & Ramone's, and following the career & tours with Laura Jane Grace's band, Against Me!, was just as exciting, if not more candid. I'm only familiar with a few songs from Against Me!, but now looking forward to hearing more, especially going through all lyrics.

What other book might you compare Tranny to and why?

I'm looking for one now...

What does Laura Jane Grace bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Because she is the author, little things like tone add context that I wouldn't have picked up on.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I'm still going through a lot of emotions, including crying often, since reading this book.

6 people found this helpful

Appeals beyond a single genre

Great story. Recommend to anyone interested in punk music, music bios, gender issues, self-exploration and discovery, human issues in general. I enjoyed the journal-based narrative... feels like intimately going back in time with the author. Also a great trip down memory lane for anyone who grew up in Florida ... from the old Gainesville music scene & famous venues to the state drug culture, there are some spot-on details and lots of nostalgia.

5 people found this helpful

Whoa

This was a very honest tale of a punk rocker. I've been a fan of Against Me! and Laura Jane Grace for some time now. I was actually at many of the shows you mentioned in Arizona. I really didn't realize there was that much disfunction with Warren. I also cannot believe the utter poverty Laura put herself through before her transition. I understand the drug use in the punk scene, I just didn't realize how hard it was to make it as a punk rock band. I do think Against Me! could still stick with their current sound and be as big as Green Day. I'm super happy that Laura narrated her audiobook as well. I find her voice very soothing. I could honestly listen to Laura, Nick Offerman, Diane Rehm, and Terry Gross all day in that order. I'm a punk with a wide range of tastes and Laura delivered. Thank you for your brutally honest story.

5 people found this helpful

Huh...

I thought for sure that I would turn this off and never listen again, after the first fifteen minutes...
This person comes across as very honest and self-aware...especially at an early age...as such, it made for a pretty fascinating way to spend a few hrs...
Needless to say, after the first fifteen minutes I was hooked.
I have zero interest in gender issues, nor am i a fan of against me...my intention when dropping a credit, was to continue listening to books by musicians about being musicians, ie...life in the road, etc....
On that end...it did not disappoint...
It just turns out that LJG has had an interesting life otherwise, and from my perspective, told an overall well written account of it.

4 people found this helpful

Incredible!

There is no way I couldn’t become immediately attached and invested in Laura’s story. It is heartbreaking, personal, triumphant, and most of all relatable for so many. I am awed by her perseverance and courage, and she spoke so many words I myself have thought or told myself so many times...I hope that I can soon see her on stage. What a victory.

3 people found this helpful

loved it!

Against me is one of the best
Laura Jane does an amazing job... her struggle is real.

3 people found this helpful

Incredible

I have been waiting to listen to this book since it's existence was first announced and was not disappointed. Even after watching all of the episodes of True Trans, listening to Against Me! since middle school and also watching countless interviews, this book has given me such a beautiful and real insight to the life of someone I admire. Laura, well done, and thank you for letting us in.

3 people found this helpful

Pages Read by Laura Jane Grace Make You Stronger

(*Pints of Guinness still do the trick and also pair nicely with this wildly powerful reading by LJG and anything Against Me! related at all, really)

Bad puns and titles are all I can contribute to a silly little review, it seems. Thankfully, this work speaks for itself and doesn’t need any help persuading the literary community of it poignancy.

This brave, brash, beautiful book speaks for itself and needs no other validation. THE HONESTY OF THE CONTENT IS UNMATCHED.

If you’re a punk, a member of the LGBTQA+ community, a friend, family member, or ally of these communities, a sucker for a fearless memoir that doesn’t read like a CSPAN broadcast, or simply just a curious browser drawn to know more: please, listen to or read this immediately. It’s important and it’s beautiful, just like you.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, a glossed over happy little tale. It’s the story of a badass trans woman in a heavily male dominated music scene, a pretty big public spotlight, pissed off people left and right and everything else beautiful and gritty along the rough roads she’s traveled.

Pardon the cliché, but with the utmost sincerity I can attest to the life changing powerhouses that are Against Me! and Laura Jane Grace. To them all, I must thank you for changing and empowering myself and my entire hometown diy scene. Thank you for helping to lead us intobetter, safer .

2 people found this helpful

Melancholic and Fascinating. A true Gift.

I'm a career long fan of Laura and even though I expected the sadness in this story, it's important to hear the struggle and fight directly from a person I admire so much for her bravery and for her talent, to better understand the work she's done.
My all time favorite songwriter and a talented author and narrator as well. Worth the credit.

1 person found this helpful