by Laverne Cox
First published 2026
Laverne Cox opens her memoir by examining the trauma that shaped her early years and the shame she carried about her gender identity. The four-time Emmy nominee traces her path from childhood abuse through years of depression and survival work at a New York drag restaurant. At nearly forty, Cox was ready to abandon her Hollywood dreams when she landed the role of Sophia Burset on Orange is the New Black. This breakthrough transformed her into a historic figure as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy and later the first to win a Daytime Emmy as executive producer. Cox reveals the behind-the-scenes realities of navigating Hollywood bureaucracy while building her career across television, fashion, and podcasting. She describes the loneliness of existing in an unaccepting world and her evolution into a fearless advocate who champions LGBTQ+ rights from red carpets to Supreme Court hearings. The memoir offers readers both intimate personal reflection and a blueprint for healing and fighting for equality.
Genres: abuse, gender-studies, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century, lgbt, gender-identity, activism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: advocacy, overcoming-adversity, personal-journey
Setting: New York
Period: 21st-century
238 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books
Content warnings: abuse, depression, mental-illness