LGBTQ - Nonfiction

This list has been created by a Library Assistant at Wake County Public Libraries (WCPL) and encompasses *most* of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus other identitites such as, intersex, asexual, aromantic, demisexual, demiromantic, nonbinary, genderqueer, and more) titles categorized under "Nonfiction" and "Biography" in the WCPL collection as of March 11, 2025.

Showing 141 - 160 of 257  There are a total of 257 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "I'll show myself out"
Star rating for I'll show myself out
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
The best-selling author and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer hilariously destroys the cultural myths and impossible expectations of modern-day motherhood and explores the humiliations, poignancies, and possibilities of midlife.
Book cover for "How we fight for our lives"
Star rating for How we fight for our lives
Author:
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Description:
"Written from the crossroads of sex, race, and power in America, [this is a] coming-of-age memoir and a ... reflection of the nation as a whole"--
Book cover for "Logical family"
Star rating for Logical family
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:

""I fell in love with Maupin's effervescent Tales of the City decades ago, and his genius turn at memoir is no less compelling. Logical Family is a must read.""—Mary Karr

In this long-awaited memoir, the beloved author of the bestselling Tales of the City series chronicles his odyssey from the old South to freewheeling San Francisco, and his evolution from curious youth to ground-breaking writer and gay rights pioneer.

Armistead

...
Book cover for "Naturally Tan"
Star rating for Naturally Tan
Author:
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:

"Tan France's unique accent, chummy intimacy, and cheeky delivery make audio the best way to experience his memoir." — AudioFile Magazine

This program is read by the author, with a special guest appearance!
In this heartfelt, funny, and touching memoir, one of the stars of Netflix's Emmy Award-winning smash-hit Queer Eye reveals how an Englishman raised in a traditionally religious home

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Book cover for "Over the top"
Star rating for Over the top
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

NPR'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

INDIE BESTSELLER

GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER: BEST MEMOIR & AUTOBIOGRAPHY



A laugh-and-cry-out-loud memoir from the beloved star of Netflix's Queer Eye, Jonathan Van Ness

Who gave Jonathan Van Ness permission to

...
Book cover for "The black unicorn"
Star rating for The black unicorn
Author:
Book cover for "The collected poems of Audre Lorde"
Star rating for The collected poems of Audre Lorde
Author:
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Book cover for "The cancer journals"
Star rating for The cancer journals
Author:
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"First published over forty years ago, The Cancer Journals is a startling, powerful account of Audre Lorde's experience with breast cancer and mastectomy. Long before narratives explored the silences around illness and women's pain, Lorde questioned the rules of conformity for women's body images and supported the need to confront physical loss not hidden by prosthesis. Living as a "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," Lorde heals and re-envisions...
Book cover for "The unpunished vice"
Star rating for The unpunished vice
Average Rating:
4 stars
Book cover for "The essential dykes to watch out for"
Star rating for The essential dykes to watch out for
Description:
Settle in to this wittily illustrated soap opera (Bechdel calls it "half op-ed column and half endless serialized Victorian novel") of the lives, loves, and politics of Mo, Lois, Sydney, Sparrow, Ginger, Stuart, Clarice, and the rest of the cast of cult-fav characters. Most of them are lesbians, living in a midsize American city that may or may not be Minneapolis. Bechdel's brilliantly imagined countercultural band of friends--academics, social workers,...
Book cover for "We have always been here"
Star rating for We have always been here
Author:
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Description:
"A queer Muslim searches for the language to express her truest self, making peace with her sexuality, her family, and Islam. Growing up in Pakistan, Samra Habib lacks a blueprint for the life she wants. She has a mother who gave up everything to be a pious, dutiful wife and an overprotective father who seems to conspire against a life of any adventure. Plus, she has to hide the fact that she's Ahmadi to avoid persecution from religious extremists....

152. Untamed

Book cover for "Untamed"
Star rating for Untamed
Average Rating:
3.4 stars
Description:
"There is a voice of longing inside every woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good mothers, daughters, partners, employees, citizens, and friends. We believe all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives, relationships, and world, and wonder: Wasn't it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to...
Book cover for "Transition"
Star rating for Transition
Author:
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Chaz Bono's groundbreaking and candid account of a forty-year struggle to match his gender identity with his physical body and his transformation from female to male
At first, America knew the only child of Sonny and Cher as Chastity, the cherubic little girl who appeared on her parents' TV show. In later years, she became famous for coming out on a national stage, working with two major organizations toward LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,...
Book cover for "Redefining realness"
Star rating for Redefining realness
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"In a landmark book, an extraordinary young woman recounts her coming-of-age as a transgender teen--a deeply personal and empowering portrait of self-revelation, adversity, and heroism. In 2011, Marie Claire magazine published a profile of Janet Mock in which she publicly stepped forward for the first time as a trans woman. Since then, Mock has gone from covering the red carpet for People.com to advocating for all those who live within the shadows...
Book cover for "Raising them"
Star rating for Raising them
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Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"'What did you have? A boy or a girl?' Kyl and Brent imagined it would be years before their child would identify with a gender. Until then... As a first-time parent, Kyl Myers had one aspect dialed in from the start: not being beholden to the boy-girl binary, disparities, or stereotypes from the day a child is born. With no wish to eliminate gender but rather gender discrimination, Kyl and her husband, Brent, ventured off on a parenting path less...
Book cover for "Life isn't binary"
Star rating for Life isn't binary
Average Rating:
5 stars
Book cover for "The fire next time"
Star rating for The fire next time
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
Contains a letter to Baldwin's nephew on the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Also describes his childhood, views on Black Muslims, and his visions.
Book cover for "Fairest"
Star rating for Fairest
Description:
An "immigrant memoir and a uniquely intersectional coming-of-age story of a life lived in duality and the in-between, and how one navigates through race, gender, and the search for love"--
Book cover for "The bold world"
Star rating for The bold world
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"Inspired by her transgender son, activist Jodie Patterson explores identity, gender, race, and authenticity to tell the real-life story of a family's history and transformation."--
Book cover for "Black boy out of time"
Star rating for Black boy out of time
Author: