
So Many Stars
An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
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Narrated by:
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Caro De Robertis
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By:
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Caro De Robertis
About this listen
From the acclaimed novelist, a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of color—from leading activists to artists to ordinary citizens—who tell their own stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance.
So Many Stars knits together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit elders of color as they share authentic, intimate accounts of how they created space for themselves and their communities in the world. This singular project collects the testimonies of twenty elders, each a glimmering thread in a luminous tapestry, preserving their words for future generations—who can more fully exist in the world today because of these very trailblazers.
De Robertis creates a collective coming-of-age story based on hundreds of hours of interviews, offering rare snapshots of ordinary life: kids growing up, navigating family issues and finding community, coming out and changing how they identify over the years, building movements and weathering the AIDS crisis, and sharing wisdom for future generations. Often narrating experiences that took place before they had the array of language that exists today to self-identify beyond the gender binary, this generation lived through remarkable changes in American culture, shaped American culture, and yet rarely takes center stage in the history books. Their stories feel particularly urgent in the current political moment, but also remind listeners that their experiences are not new, and that young trans and nonbinary people today belong to a long lineage.
The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking, full of personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative. In De Robertis’s words, So Many Stars shares “behind-the-scenes tales of what it meant—and still means—to create an authentic life, against the odds.”
©2025 Caro De Robertis (P)2025 Algonquin BooksCritic reviews
“So Many Stars is a beautiful constellation of stories, woven together to show the breadth of experiences that make up the lives of Trans, Genderqueer, Nonbinary, and Two-Spirit people of color. This book is a gift–a powerful and necessary addition to the Queer canon. An intimate and multilayered accounting of personal and collective grief, family, love, art, and the complexities, joys, and heartbreaks of the past and present, these stories also consider the future of Queer liberation.”—Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls
"Insightful and educative... Each personal history is notable in its own scope and perspective, but collectively these voices representing elder queer generations of color become extraordinary... The lasting impressions each of them has made on society beautifully amplify the heartbeat of queer trans life."—Kirkus Reviews, *STARRED REVEW*
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