During Pride Month (and all year long!), Broadleaf Books is committed to uplifting LGBTQ+ voices. The books below celebrate the diversity and beauty of queer literature and envision a more inclusive society where people of all identities and orientations can thrive. These books explore a broad range of topics and experiences, all of which contribute to the wider collective of humanity, and are here to remind you that whether you are in, out, an ally, or somewhere in between, you are loved, valued, and worthy, exactly as you are.
Scroll for the books or click the topics below to jump to that section.
Books on Gender & Sexuality
Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez was an invisible architect behind evangelical Christianity's digital empire, crafting messages of belonging for some of the most influential megachurches while secretly questioning his own place within the faith. In a desperate attempt to "fix" himself, he turned to conversion therapy. Conversion Therapy Dropout is a behind-the-scenes look at megachurch culture, the hidden harm of non-affirming Christian spaces, and the ongoing impact of conversion therapy on gay Christians. This isn't just a coming-out story—it's about what happens after. About rebuilding a life outside the only world you've ever known. And the radical act of stepping into the light after being told your whole life to stay in the shadows.
For decades, our cultural discourse around trans and gender-diverse people has been viewed through a medical lens or a political lens. But those who claim non-binary gender identity deserve their own discourse. In tracing the history and theory of non-binary identity, and telling of their own coming out, non-binary writer Dex E. Anderson answers questions about what being non-binary might mean, but also about where non-binary people fit in the trans and queer communities. In Transit looks forward to a world where being who we are, whatever that looks like, is met with acceptance and love. Being non-binary is about finding home in the in-between places.
No One Taught Me How to Be a Man
As a trans man, Shannon Kearns constructed his relationship with masculinity using bits and pieces from the world around him: male behavior, portrayals in movies, and unspoken cultural expectations. As he lived more and more in the world of men, he discovered that cis men's relationship to masculinity was similar to his. No one taught them how to be a man either. In No One Taught Me How to Be a Man, Kearns takes masculinity head-on, pointing cis and trans men alike toward better ways of being in the world.
Western culture hates the fact that we have bodies—from evangelical culture, which insists "you are a soul and have a body," to wellness culture that turns your control over your body into a moral test, to transphobic activism that insists any step taken to change one's body is an immoral act, to the treatment of disabled bodies in a profoundly ableist culture. Body Phobia is an examination of the fear of the body, how it permeates all parts of culture, alienates us from one another, marginalizes some, and harms us all.
Books on Family & Relationships
Raising Kids beyond the Binary
The debate around transgender children rages, with some Christians being the loudest voices against supporting these young people. So, now more than ever, people of faith need to be grounded in God's call to love and affirm young people in who God created them to be. Drawing on the author's experience as the mother of a transgender child and her years of advocacy work, Raising Kids beyond the Binary helps Christian parents navigate the emotional, spiritual, and logistical landscape of raising a gender-diverse child. It paints a picture of who transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse young people are and what they need to thrive.
When someone we love is grieving, we want to help, but we often don't know what to say. What if, instead of avoiding the conversation or saying something unintentionally hurtful, you had three simple phrases that reliably offer comfort? Of Course I'm Here Right Now is your guidebook to supporting a grieving friend, family member, client, or anyone who's grieving, and doing so with confidence and compassion. Whether you're consoling someone after a death, divorce, diagnosis, or another loss, this book will ensure you'll never be at a loss for words again.
You can find peace, whether or not you forgive those who harmed you. Feeling pressured to forgive their offenders is a common reason trauma survivors avoid mental health services and support. You Don't Need to Forgive is an invaluable resource for trauma survivors and their clinicians who feel alienated and even gaslighted by the toxic positivity and moralism that often characterize attitudes about forgiveness in psychology and self-help.
Poetry can open the floodgates of feeling. Turning Toward Grief is a collection of highly accessible and comforting poems on grief and loss, each followed by a brief prose reflection and inviting and welcoming writing prompts. These elements encourage and support readers as they explore the personal images, memories, and emotions sparked by each entry. By paying attention to our grief, we can learn to see it as less threatening, and although it's terribly difficult, we can turn toward our grief in gentle ways each day.
Nia Chiaramonte, Katie J. Chiaramonte
When Nia Chiaramonte came out as a trans woman to her wife Katie, she knew she would be met with a loving response. But she was less sure what would happen when they began to bring their community alongside them on their journey of identify formation as a Queer family. Embracing Queer Family is a guidebook with tools for learning and reflection for Queer families on how to live into your true selves and strengthen your communities through radical love, acceptance, and mutual healing.
Books on Activism & Justice
In a series of tender narrative essays written to his daughter, activist and author Brian C. Johnson shares what he's learned from his struggles, victories, and defeats over twenty-five years of advocacy work. The Work Is the Work is an inspiring collection of field notes that is perfect for new or seasoned activists who want to lead well in the work for transformational change.
The height of the AIDS crisis in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s left many profound stories that remained untold. In Hidden Mercy, gay Catholic journalist Michael O'Loughlin uncovers the stories of Catholics who at great personal cost chose compassion. A compelling picture of those who responded to human suffering with mercy, offering insights for LGBTQ and other people of faith struggling to find a home in religious communities today.
Sexual abuse is utterly rampant in Christian churches in America. And the reasons are somewhat different than those you might find in the #MeToo stories coming out of Hollywood or Washington. #ChurchToo turns over the rocks of the church's sexual dysfunction, revealing just what makes sexualized violence in religious contexts both ubiquitous and uniquely traumatizing. Emily Joy Allison lays the groundwork for survivors of abuse to live full, free, healthy lives.
Human beings are not trash, and the system that enables humans to imagine each other as such needs to end. Daily, 66 million poor white people pay the price for failing whiteness. In Trash, activist and chaplain Cedar Monroe introduces us to the poor residents of a small town in Washington who grapple with a collapsing economy and their own racism. Trash asks us to see the peril in which poor white people live and the choices we all must make.
Books on Spirituality & Religion
From master storyteller and host of On Being's Poetry Unbound, Pádraig Ó Tuama, comes an unforgettable memoir of peace and reconciliation, Celtic spirituality, belonging, and sexual identity. "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." Drawing on this Irish saying, Ó Tuama relates ideas of shelter and welcome to our journeys of life, using poetry, story, biblical reflection, and prose to open up gentle ways of living well in a troubled world. From the heart of a poet comes a profound look at the landscapes we all try to inhabit even as we always search for shelter, a place we can call home. An instant spiritual classic in Ireland and Britain, now brought to a US readership.
We all carry sexual shame. Whether we grew up in the repressive purity culture of American Evangelical Christianity or not, we've all been taught in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that sex (outside of very specific contexts) is taboo. Psychotherapist Matthias Roberts helps readers overcome their shame and determine their own definition of healthy sex. Define your sexual values on your own terms, overcome your shame, and start having great, healthy sex.
Also available from Matthias Roberts is Holy Runaways: Rediscovering Faith After Being Burned by Religion.
Too many of us are stuck on the treadmill of consumer spirituality, clinging to the illusion that we are in charge of our own spiritual growth and development. But the path of true transformation, according to Hunter Mobley, isn't in doing more, but in doing less—in letting go of control and adopting a contemplative posture that will naturally lead us to our true self. Letting Go, Finding You shows how a contemplative spiritual path, informed by the Enneagram, will allow you to finally stop striving after false promises and start surrendering to the truest version of yourself.
The world of contemplative Christianity has yielded to the same voices for too long, most from centuries before our time with lives unlike ours and experiences disconnected from marginalization and oppression. In Queering Contemplation, Cassidy Hall flings the doors wide open for all seeking an inclusive, authentic, and definitely more queer contemplative experience.
So many of us are leaving conservative faith traditions behind, rightly saying goodbye to toxic theology, bigotry, and harm. With wit and practical guidance, What Makes You Bloom helps us create a new spiritual practice after our faith has fallen apart. Spiritual coach Kevin Miguel Garcia shows us how we can connect with the Divine already inside us and cultivate meaningful spiritual practices that help us heal from the past, tap into the present, and imagine a delicious future.
Searching for books for kids? Discover joyful, colorful stories featuring LGBTQ representation that all kids will love from our sister imprint, Beaming Books. Click to explore the list.
To view all of our books and resources, visit broadleafbooks.com.
