Coming Out Day Book Recommendations!

National Coming Out Day is a LGBTQ+ day of celebration that supports members of the community and their experiences with “coming out of the closet”. National Coming Out Day is celebrated every October 11th and has been since 1988. In honor of this day, we’d like to share some queer books non-fiction books that discuss the lives of people in the community and/or how to support them. We hope that these books may be of interest to both members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as their support systems  

Young Adult Memoirs and Biographies:  

Messy roots : a graphic memoir of a Wuhanese American  

By Laura Gao 

Sorted : growing up, coming out, and finding my place : a transgender memoir 

By Jackson Bird 

Brave face : a memoir 

By Shaun David Hutchinson 

On top of glass : my stories as a queer girl in figure skating 

By Karina Manta 

Still Stace : my gay Christian coming-of-age story 

By Stacey Chomiak 

High school  

By Tegan and Sara Quinn 

Evelyn Hooker and the fairy project 

By Gayle E. Pitman; illustrated by Sarah Green. 

How to be ace : a memoir of growing up asexual 

By Rebecca Burgess 

Trans mission : my quest to a beard  

By Alex Bertie 

Beyond magenta : transgender teens speak out  

Edited by Susan Kuklin. 

Adult Memoirs: 

Here for It  

By R. Eric Thomas 

Love that story: observations from a gorgeously queer life  

By Jonathan Van Ness 

Redefining realness : my path to womanhood, identity, love & so much more 

By Janet Mock 

¡Hola papi! : how to come out in a Walmart parking lot and other life lessons  

By John Paul Brammer 

Fairest : a memoir  

By Meredith Talusan 

Deaf utopia : a memoir-and a love letter to a way of life 

By Nyle DiMarco with Robert Siebert. 

Uncomfortable labels : my life as a gay autistic trans woman 

By Laura Kate Dale 

Long live the tribe of fatherless girls : a memoir 

By T Kira Madden 

My lesbian experience with loneliness 

By Nagata Kabi ; translation, Jocelyne Allen ; adaptation, Lianne Sentar. 

Unprotected : a memoir 

By Billy Porter 

Once a girl, always a boy : a family memoir of a transgender journey 

By Jo Ivestor 

Non-Fiction LGBTQ+ books:  

Fine : a comic about gender 

By Rhea Ewing 

What’s the T?  (YA) 

By Juno Dawson 

Beyond the gender binary(YA) 

By Alok Vaid-Menon 

Queer : the ultimate LGBTQ guide for teens (YA) 

By Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke 

A quick & easy guide to queer & trans identities 

By Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg 

A quick & easy guide to they/them pronouns 

By Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson 

A quick & easy guide to asexuality 

Written by Molly Muldoon; drawn and co-written by Will Hernandez; lettering by Angie Knowles. 

How to they/them : a visual guide to nonbinary pronouns and the world of gender fluidity 

By Stuart Getty; illustrations by Brooke Thyng 

What’s your pronoun? : beyond he & she  

By Dennis Baron 

Building a bridge : how the Catholic Church and the LGBT community can enter into a relationship of respect, compassion, and sensitivity 

By James Martin, SJ 

Coming out : insights and tips for teenagers (YA) 

By Kezia Endsley 

Alphabet soup : the essential guide to LGBTQ2+ inclusion at work 

By Michael Bach 

Becoming an ally to the gender-expansive child : a guide for parents and carers 

By Anna Bianchi 

Supporting transgender autistic youth and adults: a guide for professionals and families 

By Finn V. Gratton 

Parenting your transgender teen : positive parenting strategies for raising transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming teens 

By Andrew Maxwell Triska, MSW, LCSW 

Rainbow relatives : real-world stories and advice on how to talk to kids about LGBTQ+ families and friends 

By Sudi “Rick” Karatas 

Raising LGBTQ allies : a parent’s guide to changing the messages from the playground 

By Chris Tompkins