I Heard Her Call My Name

A tender and funny memoir about the marvels and obstacles of transitioning in later life

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2024

'A joy' THE WASHINGTON POST

'Vibrant' LIT HUB

'Moving' THE NEW YORK TIMES

'Powerful' NEW YORKER

Lucy Sante has often felt like an outsider. Born in Belgium to conservative Catholic working-class parents, she was transplanted to the United States without ever entirely settling here. But a feeling of home finally arrived when she moved to New York City in the early 1970s amidst her fellow bohemians. Through those electric years, some of her friends would die young, from drugs and AIDS, and others would become jarringly famous. Lucy flirted with both fates, on her way to building a glittering career as a writer. But she could never shake that feeling.

When she was finally ready, Lucy decided to confront the façade she'd been presenting to everyone, including herself, over these years. I Heard Her Call My Name is the story of that confrontation, of a life with a missing piece that, with transition, falls into place. This is a memoir of grace and wit that parses the issues of gender identity and far beyond with unbounding humility and hope.

'Radical, humble and wise' HERMIONE HOBY

'An astonishing, once-in-a-lifetime achievement' HUA HSU

'Vivid, encompassing and compassionate' CATHERINE LACEY