Book Review: The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook

The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook: Skills for Navigating Sexual Orientation & Gender Expression by Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC. ISBN: 9781626259461

Queen of the Obvious Statement One: Being Transgender is extremely difficult — almost impossible.

To survive, one must come to terms with their Truth — and live with it. That may mean living a double life; no real changes, just knowing; or Transition. Not many can do this — that’s why so many of us commit suicide. The Pain is too much to bear.

Like gender, being transgender is a continuum. Some people have it just a little, and can suppress it. Others can satisfy their “other side” by occasionally wearing clothing from the opposite sex. Still others go out as their True selves from time to time, and that is enough. Then there are the few who must Transition, despite the hardships.

It’s a hard life. Fortunately, none of us has to do it alone. We have community — transgender friends and loved ones who Understand. We also have allies. Some of the most important are in the medical community, especially Psychology. Many of us see therapists, but some can’t afford them.

That brings me to this month’s book: The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook: Skills for Navigating Sexual Orientation & Gender Expression by Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC.

From the publisher:
Resilience is a key ingredient for psychological health and wellness. It’s what gives people the psychological strength to cope with everyday stress, as well as major setbacks. For many people, stressful events may include job loss, financial problems, illness, natural disasters, medical emergencies, divorce, or the death of a loved one. But if you are queer or gender non-conforming, life stresses may also include discrimination in housing and health care, employment barriers, homelessness, family rejection, physical attacks or threats, and general unfair treatment and oppression-all of which lead to overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness. So, how can you gain resilience in a society that is so often toxic and unwelcoming?

In this important workbook, you’ll discover how to cultivate the key components of resilience: holding a positive view of yourself and your abilities; knowing your worth and cultivating a strong sense of self-esteem; effectively utilizing resources; being assertive and creating a support community; fostering hope and growth within yourself, and finding the strength to help others. Once you know how to tap into your personal resilience, you’ll have an unlimited well you can draw from to navigate everyday challenges.

By learning to challenge internalized negative messages and remove obstacles from your life, you can build the resilience you need to embrace your truest self in an imperfect world.

Sounds useful, right? It’s a guided workbook to help teach the reader how to cope with the special stress that comes from being LGBT. Is she qualified? Again, from the publisher:

Singh is a cofounder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, an organization that works at the intersection of heterosexism, racism, sexism, and other oppressions to create safe school environments in Georgia, and she founded the Trans Resilience Project to translate findings from her 15 years of research on the resilience that transgender people develop to navigate societal oppression.

Okay, she’s qualified.

That’s all well and good, but. . . how’s the book? Well, that depends upon the reader. No, that’s not a cop out. Each reader has different needs, and will take the book in a different way. Some won’t take it seriously, while others will use it as the tool it’s intended to be.

My. . . issues are well known, as I’ve documented them here on TGForum and on my award winning blog. I saw this book as an opportunity — a possible learning experience. Some of the parts were “obvious” — things I already knew and worked through. Other parts were difficult: Exploring my past and my issues is never easy.

In my case, the book was very useful. I learned a few things and some coping ideas. As such, I recommend it. Your mileage may vary.

Be well.

The book is available from Amazon.

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Tags: book review, featured, opinion, Transgender

Category: Product Review, Transgender Community News