TRANS GIRL IN LOVE

Gwen Benaway on writing trans girl in love: “I wanted to show trans girl intimacy and love without any filters and on our own terms. Trans girls are often treated as curiosities, but I want trans girl in love to humanize our experiences. For me, trans girl in love is a love letter to every trans girl who dreams of a better life.”

trans girl in love, fifteen linked personal essays, is Gwen's first volume of prose. With searing honesty, an arrestingly frank literary voice, and a poet's skill to dig deeply, Gwen uncovers her life in its many complexities, contradictions, emptiness, and fullness. trans girl in love illuminates the bittersweet longing and joy at the heart of trans feminine desire, exploring the many moments that make up a world of vibrant living.

In “trauma,” Gwen revisits memories of her childhood, in which she endured parental abuse and the bewilderment of living in a body that didn't feel like hers. In “ontology” she unpacks the myths and common misconceptions about living a trans life, and digs way beneath the surface to arrive at some ineffable truths. In
“surgery,” she describes the overwhelming emotion and terrifying risk of her sex confirmation surgery. In “heartbreak,” she brings readers inside the singular and exquisite emotional pain that her cis-white boyfriend inflicts on her.

Throughout, in her uncanny poetic way, Gwen takes readers through the longing and suffering, and transcendent moments of pure being in her journey of self-discovery. The combination of Gwen's experience and her shining talent give this volume a uniqueness that will captivate readers, and bring them all back to the essence of what makes us utterly human: our yearning for love.

GWEN BENAWAY is a trans girl of Anishinaabe and Métis descent. She has published three collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead, Passage, and most recently, Holy Wild, which is nominated for a Lambda Award and a Publishing Triangle Award. She has received many distinctions and other awards, including the Dayne Ogilvie Honour of Distinction for Emerging Queer Authors from the Writers' Trust of Canada. Her poetry and essays have been published in national publications and anthologies, including The Globe and Mail, Maclean's Magazine, CBC Arts, and many others. She is a Ph.D. student at the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.