Praise for Gender Splendor

 

"What a beautiful book, just the uplift we need—and deserve—for affirming our trans or queer gender truths in the face of a difficult world. Written with great love, drawing on the hard-won insight of a treasured trans elder, Gender Splendor is a source of wisdom and play, exploration and healing, a sparkling celebration of everything we are and can become." 

--Caro De Robertis, Stonewall Book Award-winning author of Cantoras and The Palace of Eros. Professor, Creative Writing Department, San Francisco State University

 

“Kudos to Willy Chang Wilkinson for bringing us gender creativity at its best. Reminding every trans, nonbinary and gender expansive person that ‘your existence has value and meaning,’ Gender Splendor offers prompts for our inner voices that build gender resilience, pride, and empowerment, even in the face of outside challenges. A must read for everyone, old or young, who either is or wishes to embrace a ‘gender fabulous’ person.”

--Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D., author of The Gender Creative Child. Director of Mental Health, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Child and Adolescent Gender Center

 

“Gender Splendor offers us all a profound opportunity for reflection and self-actualization at a time when trans people face large, existential threats. Amidst all that, Wilkinson empowers us with tools to turn inward, heal, and grow.” 

--Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality.

 

“This book is essential for the community, especially during the current hostile climate that we are all in. It is easy to focus on the negative narratives that are hurting us and I, for one, am grateful that Willy Chang Wilkinson reminds us that we are in control of our own lives, and we are not alone.” 

--Cecilia Chung, North American Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Delegate to UNAIDS and Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Evaluation, Transgender Law Center

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“What a wonderful workbook that gives each and every one of us insightful, creative, perceptive prompts to document our lives! We are in need of connection with our interior selves to remind us of who we are, who we have been, and how we want to grow and thrive independently and in relation to our communities. Our creativity gives us strength and resilience. Willy Chang Wilkinson has shared his insight to offer this powerful tool to inspire trans-centered awareness, regeneration, and healing. Enjoy!” 

--Jamison Green, author of Becoming a Visible Man. First trans person to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of LGBTQ Psychiatrists

 

“In Gender Splendor: 50 Creative Sparks to Celebrate Yourself at All Ages and Stages, Willy Chang Wilkinson reminds us that creative expression can be a valuable outlet for reducing stress and anxiety, and an inspiring way to cultivate self-compassion and self-esteem. This resource is a compelling response to the current mental health crisis, with the power to help us all develop resilience, pursue our purpose, and ‘not let fools get us down.’”

– Zander Keig, MSW, LCSW, coeditor of Manning Up: Transsexual Men on  Finding Brotherhood, Family, and Themselves and 2020 Social Worker of the Year, awarded by the National Association of Social Workers

 

“By interweaving threads of joy, pride, and self-exploration, this book creates a personal blanket of resilience for people interested in deepening their own connection to their gender identity. It invites people to make space for their true selves apart from the pressures of politics and gender expectations.” 

--julie graham, MFT, founder and first director of Gender Health SF, the first program in the U.S. to facilitate gender-affirming surgery access for low-income populations

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