Tranny

Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout

By: Laura Jane Grace, Dan Ozzi

Narrated by: Laura Jane Grace

One of Billboard's 100 Greatest Music Books of All Time: The provocative transgender advocate and lead singer of the punk rock band Against Me! provides a searing account of her search for identity and her true self. It began in a bedroom in Naples, Florida, when a misbehaving punk teenager named Tom Gabel, armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a headful of anarchist politics, landed on a riff. Gabel formed Against Me! and rocketed the band from its scrappy beginnings-banging on a drum kit made of pickle buckets-to a major-label powerhouse that critics have called this generation's The Clash.

Since its inception in 1997, Against Me! has been one of punk's most influential modern bands, but also one of its most divisive. With every notch the four-piece climbed in their career, they gained new fans while infuriating their old ones. They suffered legal woes, a revolving door of drummers, and a horde of angry, militant punks who called them "sellouts" and tried to sabotage their shows at every turn. But underneath the public turmoil, something much greater occupied Gabel - a secret kept for 30 years, only acknowledged in the scrawled-out pages of personal journals and hidden in lyrics.

Through a troubled childhood, delinquency, and struggles with drugs, Gabel was on a punishing search for identity. Not until May of 2012 did a Rolling Stone profile finally reveal it: Gabel is a transsexual, and would from then on be living as a woman under the name Laura Jane Grace.

Tranny is the intimate story of Against Me!'s enigmatic founder, weaving the narrative of the band's history, as well as Grace's, with dozens of never-before-seen entries from the piles of journals Grace kept. More than a typical music memoir about sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll - although it certainly has plenty of that - Tranny is an inside look at one of the most remarkable stories in the history of rock.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Laura Jane Grace (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Amazingly Written

What did you like best about this story?

As a long time Against Me! fan, I was looking forward to know what was going on behind the scenes during this whole period in her life and that's exactly what I got and more.

What about Laura Jane Grace’s performance did you like?

She's so inspiring for everyone, no matter what gender, sexual preference, walk of life, etc... A great story and someone to look up to.

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

The ending to this book is perfect. I loved it.

All the cards on the table.

Laura Jane lays out the good the bad and the ugly in her own voice.

relatable

a no bullshit book. no flash of celebrity and I could relate. She holds your attention and brings her story to life.

Laura Jane Grace is an icon

As a young anarchist punk, I was always a fan of Against Me! They were never my favorite, I never cared much to see them live, but something drew me to them. I noticed the metaphors alluding to Laura's gender identity and something about it always resonated with me. Flash forward to 2011, I was just beginning to learn about was being trans was and I knew that that's what I was. Then the rolling Stone article in which Laura came out in dropped. My only thought was that if she could be brave enough to be out to the world, maybe I could do it too eventually. That album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, quite literally saved my life. I wasn't alone. It wasn't easy for her and it wouldn't be easy for me, but I wasn't alone. I pulled myself away from the edge and knew I had to live long enough to be as brave as her. Now years later, 1 year on hormones, I've seen Against Me! (now my favorite band) and met Laura, she is still my hero. I aspire to be like her, to look like her, to live my brutal truth. This book really hit home. It reinforced this shared experience that I felt I had with her. So many of things she tells of, the experiences she's had, seem like they could have been copy and pasted from my own journals. I truly believe this is a must read (or listen I guess) for anyone, but especially for all of the transgender punks like us out there.

A Great F'ing Book!

Where does Tranny rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The best audio book I have listened to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

LJG reading the VERY personal diary is haunting. You feel the emotion and even though I knew the entire book ( just finished the hardcover) LJG made the story telling memorizing

Which scene was your favorite?

LJG at the pharmacy getting her first round of hormones.....hilarious

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

a "sellout" redeemed

Any additional comments?

Fantastic book and recording. Having the author read their books imparts the emotion intended during the writing of the book

This book is inspiring as hell

I loved it, and it's helped me through my transition at times, just as much as her music has at times
if you're transgender I definitely recommend this book

A powerful memoir about self discovery

Laura tells her story as only she can. From her childhood as an army brat, through her struggles as an adult, to the triumphs and tragedies of her adult life. Are all stories of transgender women like hers? No, but a great many of us struggle through similar things.

She pulls no punches in her book; most especially in areas where she talks about the ways she failed others in her life. It's not a "rose coloured glasses" retelling that's designed to portray her in the most positive light ever. Instead it's an accurate look back at a life lived in flux. The struggle against the woman she is, in favour of trying to be the man society demands that she be. The struggle against addictions. The struggle to be a successful artist.

This is the second time I've listened to this book, in addition to reading the physical copy because of the naked honesty contained within. It's not "simply" about a person's journey through transition. It's a story about the music industry, the fickleness of fans, the pitfalls of taking chances juxtaposed with the opportunity for success. It's about life.

She is my hero!

Absolutely an amazing book I recommend it for anyone and everyone. I grew up in my teenage years listening to Against Me! and have such respect for Laura Jane Grace.

Powerful

The personal insight from Laura Jane Grace on her life in Against Me! is a powerful story of self-acceptance in the face of a world that has never fully accepted you. For the punks, the confused, the curious, the music fan, for everyone.

equal parts punk rock/trans experience

I was pretty well in the target audience for this book. I'm a huge Against Me fan, I see them almost every time they're in town, and I also like reading about LGBTQ issues and had made it a goal to read more about the trans experience. But I was blown away by how good this book is. I knew Laura was a gifted lyricist, but that does not necessarily a great prose writer make. I am also a little suspicious of biographies with co-writers attached. But since so much of this was from Laura's journals, I felt more confident this was really her voice. Despite it being a sometimes dark and emotionally difficult read, I was sad when this was over. So many celebrity biographies, even of people with interesting stories, feel forced, feel like they should be blog posts, not a book. There are usually chapters it seems obvious are only there to increase page count and somehow make this long enough to be a book. This is not the case here. I regret not buying a physical copy last time I saw them on tour, because it makes me sad I was missing out on this for so long!

There is equal material here for the punk rocker, Against Me fan, anarchist DIY sort and for those mainly interested in Laura's gender dysphoria experience. I will say if you wanted to read all about her physical transition you might be disappointed there. The book ends with her committing fully to hormone therapy, no surgeries are mentioned, as it's none of our business.

I loved the band name dropping. Hearing about Laura almost getting in a fight with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio when she was Tom, hanging out with NOFX on Warped Tour and jamming with Lars and Tim from Rancid was amazing. Joan Jett was also a big presence.

It's also worth noting that even people confident and firm in a traditional gender identity will find plenty to relate to here. If you've ever felt like your body or the image you present to the world doesn't match what's inside of you, if you've ever hated what you see in the mirror, you will see that you may have more similarities than differences with trans or gender non conforming folk.

In a time when many of our heroes are falling, it's nice to see one rise.