The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes and the Unwritten History of the Trans Experience
by Zoe Playdon
Until the 1990s the secret legal case of Ewan Forbes, an aristocratic transgender man born in Scotland in 1912, was known by few people. Assigned female at birth, Forbes later received synthetic testosterone and lived a peaceful life as a doctor, husband and crucial member of the community. In the 1960s, when a family death led Forbes to inherit the baronetcy, he was forced to contest his gender status in Scotland’s supreme civil court and he prevailed. Had Ewan Forbes’ case not been kept secret, it would have been a critically important case for transgender individuals around the world. The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes is a crucial text in trans history and the ongoing struggle for trans rights around the world.
Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes
by Phoebe Robinson
A collection of essays equal parts hilarious and deeply thoughtful, Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes takes on race, travel, relationships, genuine human connection and Black excellence with unparalleled wit. Packed with authenticity and pop culture references, Robinson’s writing is heartfelt, accessible and made to stick with you for years to come.
Bewilderment
by Richard Powers
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers presents a brilliant novel filled with profound wonder and worry for the natural world as it faces destruction. Bewilderment tells the story of an astrobiologist single father and a son who feels kindness and love for animals and the natural world so deeply that his rage at their mistreatment becomes nearly all-consuming. Rich in prose and brimming with striking imagery, this novel explores the nature of empathy, pain and the beauty of all living things.
Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism
by Elsa Sjunneson
Ever since movies began playing on silver screens in the early 20th century, their ability to sway public perception has had a tremendous impact on society. Cinematic depictions of disabilities and disabled individuals have long done more harm than good. Elsa Sjunneson, a deafblind media studies professor, knows the damage caused by silver screen portrayals all too well. Part cultural critique and part memoir, Being Seen deconstructs negative tropes and stereotypes in myriad film genres and calls out the myths around disability that have been perpetuated by popular cinema for generations.
