The Signature Trans Experience

When I first started reading Jessica’s book, it hit me like a hammer. I had never encountered a book that captured so many of my own first‑hand experiences or stirred up so many emotions. It felt like finding my soulmate — and from that moment on, there was no other option: I had to bring this book to the US and share it with a wider audience.

The German Original

Why This Book Matters

Let’s face it: being trans is a challenge. Especially if we don’t have the luxury of passing, we live under constant scrutiny. It feels like walking a tightrope, trying to find the impossible balance between “enough” and “too much” in every part of our lives.

Where most people simply exist, almost everything trans people do requires careful consideration. For our own peace and safety, we have to think twice about what we wear to the grocery store or how we present ourselves during a routine visit with our primary care physician.

We learn the hard way that inclusion and acceptance are not the same. We are expected to be understanding when people bulldoze across our boundaries, sometimes intentionally and often out of ignorance. And when we ask for even a small amount of consideration, we are told to shut up and be grateful instead.

The intention of this book is to send a strong message to my trans siblings. You are not alone. Your struggles are real. I also hope that some cisgender readers will gain insight into our world, understand why life as a trans person is difficult, and see why our patience sometimes wears thin.

The English Version

I first contacted Jessica in November 2025, right after finishing her book, to explore how I could translate it into English and publish it in the US. We quickly agreed that a direct translation wouldn’t work. The landscape for transgender people differs in many ways between the two countries.

Instead, we chose a co‑authorship model. The inspiration comes from Jessica’s original book. The outline remains the same, and the bluntness, the anger, and the frustration are still there. But I have taken more liberties than a translator usually would, and I completely rewrote those chapters that deal with specifically German circumstances.

The Publishing Process

I am not a writer, and I have many projects competing for my attention. I also have a tendency to procrastinate on things that do not come naturally to me. This book is no exception.

That is why I chose a different route. I will publish the book online first, one chapter each week. Once all thirty chapters are released, I will take one more editing pass and figure out how to self‑publish a printed version. I hope to reach that point by late 2026.

But even after the printed version is released, this online edition will always remain free. It is important to me that access to this book is not limited, because it is the kind of book you didn’t know you needed.

Stay safe, stay strong!

Heartfelt hugs, Liz

The Book

If you missed any previously released chapters, start reading here:

Coming up – a new chapter every week:

Chapter 7: The community: friend or enemy?
Chapter 8: Tell your therapist what they need to hear.