SAYFTEE

Target Audience: Mature adolescents & adults

Content Warnings: Violence, discrimination, sexual assault, abuse

SAYFTEE Rating: 7/8 hearts

Reviewer: Nic Wildes (they/them/theirs), LMHC and co-director of SAYFTEE

Why: This collection of personal narratives from 30 different humans exploring and sharing their unique experiences of gender is a gift. We all need to see ourselves reflected in others and Nonbinary offers anyone exploring gender this opportunity.

Target Audience:

Anyone wondering about their alcohol use & seeking pathways toward making changes or completely stopping use

People who are potentially seeking alternative/additional perspectives & treatment options to AA

Clients who are, & clinicians working with, folks struggling with substance use

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Jennie Knott, LICSW (she/her/hers) is an independently licensed clinical social worker who has primarily worked with survivors of trauma struggling with alcohol and drug use for the last 8 years.

Why:

A great clinical tool, Holly's perspective was a feminist companion in a field of treatment and recovery that is still so deeply burdened by patriarchal approaches to healing.

Jennie is also intimately familiar with addiction in her personal life, and was deeply moved - relieved - by Holly's critical perspective on the culture of AA and dominant recovery-culture, in general. A great clinical tool, Holly's perspective was also a feminist companion in a field of treatment and recovery that is still so deeply burdened by patriarchal approaches to healing.

Holly's perspective helped Jennie continue to resist concepts dominant in AA that often perpetuate harm on female and gender non-conforming bodies, intuition, and wisdom; and helped Jennie continue to trust, explore, and embody alternative paths for healing that are, at their core, trauma-informed and responsive, and unique to people navigating systems of oppression while simultaneously learning how to thrive without the dominant influence of alcohol and drugs.

Target Audience: Adults and mature readers

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts

Reviewer: Helen Staab (she/her/hers), LICSW at SAYFTEE

Why: You may be familiar with Lavery’s work as the co-founder and contributing writer of the Toast or author of “Texts from Jane Eyre.” Lavery’s wit and intelligence is equally sharp in Something that May Shock and Discredit You, but these essays are more explicitly personal than his past work. Using metaphors from theology and pop culture to invite the reader into his lived experiences, Lavery shares about exploring his own gender identity and coming out as trans. As always, Lavery’s writing is at once laugh-out-loud clever and powerfully insightful.

Target Audience: Adults and mature teens

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), Clinician at SAYFTEE

Why: This is a wonderful graphic novel/memoir about the author Maia Kobabe’s experiences around gender and sexuality development as a genderqueer and asexual individual. I really appreciate the author capturing and sharing through this graphic novel the many stages of identity development e experienced throughout eir early childhood to adulthood.

Target Audience: Adults and mature teens

SAYFTEE Rating: 7/8 hearts

Reviewer: Even Paglisott (they/them), MPH and Rose Service Learning Fellow with SAYFTEE

Why: I picked up this book in my early twenties at a used book sale in suburban Missouri, and it was the first book about queer experiences I read. The author (Neil Miller) is a cis white gay man who takes a road trip across the US during the 80s. Each chapter finds the author in a different small town or city, talking with lesbian and gay individuals who were quietly yet openly living their lives in seemingly discriminatory places in America. Miller's portraits of queerness are simple and full of warmth, and as a young adult, I felt filled with hope hearing how much acceptance and community gay and lesbian individuals could find in these conservative places. Miller's discussions of race and racism as it intersects with queerness is very limited and he does not discuss trans experiences.

Target Audience: Adults, teachers, parents, helping professionals

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Nic Wildes (they/them/theirs), LMHC and co-director of SAYFTEE

Why: This conversational style book uses a trauma informed lens to invite the reader to reframe how we think about people’s actions and behavior. When we begin to shift away from “what’s wrong with you? “ to “what happened to you?” we can access more openness and curiosity for ourselves and each other. From this more gentle and compassionate stance healing becomes possible.

Target Audience: High school age and up (some scary/gruesome bits. If you can handle The Hunger Games, this should be fine)

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Helen Staab (she/her/hers), LICSW at SAYFTEE

Why: Every Heart a Doorway is the first in the ongoing ‘Wayward Children’ series. The basic premise of the series follows children who find their ways into other worlds through magic doorways, a la Narnia through the wardrobe. In Every Heart a Doorway, we are introduced to a school where these children live after returning to this world - and often pine for the magical worlds they left behind.

The stories are clever and complex and center around the theme of belonging. In this initial book, the protagonist is asexual and main supporting characters are gay and trans. This level of representation persists throughout the series, where new characters are introduced and some characters repeat. The Wayward Children series will be a delightful romp for any YA Fantasy fan, and are also great audiobooks.

Target Audience: Clinicians working with teens & teens themselves

SAYFTEE Rating: 7/8 hearts

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), LMHC at SAYFTEE

Why: This is a workbook designed for teens using ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) principles. I appreciate the author’s voice holding strong throughout the book and acknowledging the things he may or may not know about being a teen while navigating “The stuff that sucks, the stuff you care about, the stuff that’s here and now,” and beyond.

Target Audience: Adults and mature readers

Content Warnings: Discussions of sexual trauma and drug use

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Even Paglisotti (they/them/theirs), MPH and Rose Service Learning Fellow with SAYFTEE

Why: This book has been hugely transformative for me! Adrienne Maree Brown draws on the work of other Black Feminist thinkers to establish that pleasure (in all of it's forms) is a birthright. She goes on to explore what it means to move out of a mindset of pleasure scarcity and into a mindset of 'enough', as in, "There will be enough for everyone.”

The book is made up of previous blog posts, interview transcripts, art, and feminist theory, with brown's commentary woven throughout, and I love that I can pick it up and read a random chapter in it of itself! This book is a must-read for anyone invested in social justice; it drastically altered the way I approach justice work.

Target Audience: Teens, is also a very useful tool for therapists working with TG/NB teens

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Melissa MacNish Nishman (she/her/hers), founder and co-director of SAYFTEE

Why: I have found the exercises in this workbook extremely useful to help support teens in exploring and affirming their gender identity. This book also includes real life scenarios, relevant content and practical guidance for navigating the world as a TG/NB teen. I also loved the colorful and fun illustrations!

Target Audience: Children, and everyone with kids in their lives

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Nic Wildes, LMHC, co-director of SAYFTEE (they/them/theirs)

Why: This was such a heartwarming story of a young trans boy sharing his truth and then preparing for the birth of a sibling. He expresses worry about being the perfect big brother, and his mother lovingly reminds him, “You taught us how important it is to love someone for exactly who they are.”

Target Audience: 12+

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Helen Staab (she/her/hers), LICSW at SAYFTEE

Why: The cover blurb from V.E. Schwab says it best: “It is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket.” This delightful story by TJ Klune follows a social worker who performs reviews of orphanages for magical children. Cerulean Sea is full of well developed characters and interesting plot, but it’s not bogged down with a *constant sense of impending doom* that is often present in YA fantasy and queer narratives in particular.

Target Audience: Siblings and parents of transgender youth

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), LMHC at SAYFTEE

Why: One of the first children’s books for siblings of trans youth I’ve encountered! Jack (Not Jackie) follows the older sister’s experience of having a new sibling and all of the excitement that comes with that, as well as the disappointment when your younger sibling does not share the same interests as you, and learning that your sibling needs support and understanding!

Target Audience: Clinicians interested in somatics and social justice

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Allyson Black-Foley, LCSW (she/her) is a psychotherapist practicing in Philadelphia.

Why: This book gives an excellent overview of the ways in which trauma stems from social conditions and provides approaches for both individual and collective healing. The author walks the reader through the process of ‘regenerating safety’ after a traumatic experience.

Target Audience: Adults, clinicians

SAYFTEE Rating: 7/8 hearts

Reviewer: Nic Wildes, LMHC, co-director of SAYFTEE (they/them/theirs)

Why: This book offers an accessible introduction to IFS along with multiple exercises to allow readers to explore this approach first hand. I found myself wanting everyone I know to experience the healing and self compassion that can be obtained through this way of relating to oneself and the world around them.

Target Audience: Ages 4-8

SAYFTEE Rating: 8/8 hearts!

Reviewer: Helen Staab (she/her/hers), LICSW at SAYFTEE

Why: This delightful book was written by mother-daughter duo DeShanna and Trinity Neal, inspired by Trinity’s own experience. In the story, Trinity’s mother listens as Trinity explains why long hair feels important to her as a trans girl. Her mother then works to help make this happen in a way that honors Trinity’s ethnicity, neurodiversity, and colorful personality.

Target Audience: Teens

Content Warnings: Homophobia, transphobia, suicide

SAYFTEE Rating: 7/8 hearts

Reviewer: Nic Wildes (they/them/theirs), LMHC and co-director of SAYFTEE

Why: I appreciated how this easy to read book offers snapshots of 23 LGBTQ+ people in history. It feels so grounding to be reminded of those that came before and learn about their roles in history. I have deep gratitude for all of our queer ancestors known and unknown.