Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I am not the intended audience for this book, so some parts of it are hard to rate. However, I found that the combination of Johnston’s personal and professional experience, as well as research and full list of sources, made this book well-rounded. In particular, I liked the focus on how each gender journey and transitioning experience can be different and the work done to demystify complex procedures and historical facts and contextualize them.

If you're asking yourself this question, then the answer is yes. That's the most important thing I learned from Alo's comforting, confidence building and deeply relatable guidance. So many a-ha moments here, including a chapter on trans identities and the neurodiverse experience.

Great for: those searching for answers

A nice reference point and good launching point for those questioning their gender. Unlike many books that only focus on Western trans issues, this one also gives an insight to other trans identities.

I feel like this book could also be a good tool for those in your life who don't understand but want to learn more. The full glossary and references at the end help as well.

Thank you in advance to author Alo Johnston and NetGalley for the free e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

In all honesty, this is a book I will be buying once I am able to in the future and recommending to others, cis and trans alike.
Many transgender people have a period of their life, if not many periods of their life where they question their validity. This is totally normal! Time and time again I have seen trans individuals of all ages ask: "Am *I* Trans Enough?". Anyone part of trans communities will know how prevalent this question is.

This book provides:
- Unique and clear insight that a trans person will most definitely feel validated from and/or think of certain subjects in a healthier way than before.

- A nice refresher from a lot of transphobic sentiment online.

- A great starting place for cis people (especially WGST students).

It was easy to understand, however, it was not the same things that you find spoon-fed to you constantly on the internet (woo!). Alo has a wonderful way of validating trans readers and helping people understand themselves and others tremendously. There are several topics gone over the entire book and I recommend it to anyone with an open mind or deep internal questioning.

I do not know what else to say without sounding like a broken record: THIS IS A BOOK WORTH BUYING AND STARTING A CONVERSATION OVER! Check it out and see for yourself!

It’s very clear that this book was written by someone who knows what they’re talking about, and who tells it with care.

My favorite parts were the comparisons the author used to break down feelings and experiences. They all felt truthful and went right to the point (and despite the fact that I already knew most of the things we were talking about, those comparisons and metaphors helped me have a clearer picture as well).

I loved how we have different chapters for all the identities (nonbinary, trans woman and trans man), I appreciated how the examples and brief histories told included BIPOC communities, and that in the "more resources" list at the end there aren't just trans books but books about mental health, autism and sexuality too.

I personally think this would be a great read for cis people as well. They would probably learn a lot from it.

A book for anyone questioning anything about their gender. The book is short but it is a long read, at least it was for me. I had to take breaks to fully sit with what Alo Johnston was explaining. It does read as a beginner's handbook to gender identity and that is not a bad thing at all. There is just a weird balance of personal and educational.

'Am I Trans Enough' by Alo Johnston is a beautiful book. I've been reading quite some LGTBQ+ self-help books the last few months, but this one is definitely one of my favourites. Of course, I can't speak for the trans community, since I'm a cis female myself, but for me it worked really well. I have been trying to educate myself about non-binary, trans and other people and this book did a lot for me. I learned some crucial things about being trans that I'm ashamed to say I never knew - probably the reason I felt the need to educate myself oops. I liked that the different chapters focused on different aspects of being trans, I like when books are clear like that. Definitely recommend!

Am I Trans Enough was a very difficult book to read. And that's because of how raw, and real the true to life testimonials it gives are. There were sections in this book that made my skin crawl, because it was as though the author had peered into my soul and put feelings that I didn't even realize I had in the book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to deal with their internalized transphobia like I have been, as this book helped me work through some of my feelings by explaining their origins.

I've actually recommended this book to some Cis friends I have to help explain feelings that I've been trying to relate to them for months, such as internalized transphobia, and impostor syndrome, and the one friend who actually ended up ordering the book is now able to follow along with me as I describe these feelings.

Easy 5/5, this book is exceptionally important, and I'm looking forward to seeing more books like this in the near future as this conversation becomes more and more needed.

This book is clearly written by a trans person, for trans people, either out or who are questioning. If I had this book when I was questioning, it would have made me a whole lot more confident in myself, and I wasn't "faking it". This is an important book to be used as an educational tool for trans people.

You know, I don’t really think I ever asked myself this question after the one sleepless Sunday night I spent wrestling with it. I jest, of course. Kind of. I think for me my understanding of my transness was sneaky. It kind of grew in my subconscious for years until it burst forth, fully formed, and once I accepted it, everything else happened all at once. Nevertheless, Am I Trans Enough: How to Overcome Your Doubts and Find Your Authentic Self still had some cool insights for me, and I suspect the research, ideas, and questions Alo Johnston has brought together in this book will be helpful for many a trans or questioning person. Thanks to Jessica Kingsley Publishers and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is a surprisingly comprehensive book! I say surprisingly because I wasn’t sure it was possible to pull off a feat like this until Johnston did it. Am I Trans Enough? comprises four parts: “The Personal and Philosophy,” “Context and History,” “Mental Health,” and “Interpersonal.” You know how much I love good organization, and this book has that down: each one of these parts is necessary and thoughtful in the exploration of this topic. Johnston begins by asking the reader, who presumably might be questioning their gender identity, to consider how we think of gender in relation to ourselves. From there, he branches into the wider idea of gender as a social construct. Next, a crucial discussion of how gender nonconformity and transition can affect one’s mental health, especially given the transphobic state of our society. Finally, a part that discusses what transition and coming out means for your relationships with others.

One of the things I love most about this book is how it doesn’t focus much on medical transition. Of course Johnstone mentions both hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery throughout the book. However, these are always in service of a wider discussion of transition that firmly grounds it in a social context. This is valuable, in my opinion, for three reasons. First, it discourages what’s known as transmedicalization, this idea that you are only “trans enough” if you pursue a certain level of medical transition. Second, it pushes back against the cisnormative narrative that always focuses on medical transition when we talk about trans people. Third, it reminds us that gender-affirming medical care is only one piece of the puzzle. Yes, it is essential for many trans people—including me!—but when we look to hormones or the like as a panacea for all of our mental health issues or questions about gender, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment.

Along these lines, probably my favourite chapter is “The Paradox of Transition.” In it, Johnston reflects on how most trans people would love to say that we are only transitioning for ourselves, but the reality is much more complicated. I feel this, oof. I’m approaching my third anniversary of coming out as trans and pondering what I want to write about to mark the occasion. Though I don’t question whether I am trans enough, I still struggle to explain sometimes why I went from (as an external observer might see it) being comfortable calling myself cis for thirty years to deciding to transition overnight. It is, of course, more complicated than that, and this is what Johnston gets at in this chapter. I love how he discusses how the pandemic belied the popular desire among many transitioning people to go off and transition on a desert island—I have blogged about that as well.

In particular, this paragraph stands out for me:

> The fantasy of complete self-reliance also assumes there is a “true gender” deep down, past the reach of our interactions and relationships. There is no objective, pure, internal self that exists outside of the relationships that form us and help us thrive. We are relational, and our genders are relational too.

Louder for the people at the back, please!

This is what I have tried to articulate time and again, on my personal blog and in discussions with others about my transition. The piece of the puzzle that burst the dam I had subconsciously built around my gender identity was the realization that I didn’t want to be “one of the girls” in an honourary sense; I wanted to be one of the girls. This flip of a switch from metaphorical to literal was all it took for my resistance to being trans to crumble—seemingly overnight, as I said earlier—because, as Johnston puts it so well in that quote, it’s all about relations. It’s why I needed to socially transition rather than just start wearing cute dresses while still calling myself a man; it’s why the cute dresses make me feel good about myself even though I am a woman regardless of what I wear.

In terms of knowledge levels, this book eschews quite a bit of the standard “trans 101” that you might find in similar texts. However, it remains accessible to someone who hasn’t read a lot of books about being transgender. Some later chapters discuss, respectively, the experience of being nonbinary, a trans woman, or a trans man, and I think a lot of people who are much newer to the language and concepts around transness will benefit from those chapters especially.

Of course, even though this framing includes nonbinary people loudly and on the same footing as transfeminine and transmasculine people, it’s still somewhat problematic in the way it kind of creates what I call the “bumpy gender binary,” where nonbinary becomes an “other” category outside of a trans experience that otherwise replicates and reinforces the binary. Johnston acknowledges early in the book that his perspective is a limited, Western one. So it’s important to seek out voices that write about nonbinary experiences outside of that sphere—this publisher has such an anthology, and there are others out there. This is not a critique of Am I Trans Enough? so much as an observation of a limitation it has already acknowledged.

What about readers who are pretty certain they are cis? Am I Trans Enough? might still be a beneficial read. You are not Johnston’s intended audience, but you would still learn a lot about how to look at and explore gender. Even if you are confident you are cisgender, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend time examining what that means for you. However, there are probably other books out there that will do a better job of guiding you on that journey, just as there are probably better books to learn about trans experiences, ones that are speaking to an audience that includes cis people.

This is a book firmly written for trans people, by a trans author who is also a therapist, grounded firmly in theory and praxis. It gets you thinking. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who comes to me expressing questions about their gender.

This book does exactly what it promises to do; it is written by a trans person for trans people. It gently guides you through everything that being transgender entitles, is full of fact-based information, and encompasses experiences from fellow trans people.

I wanted to highlight everything; I may or may not have made around 200 annotations. It is probably pretty obvious, that I really enjoyed this book.

You should read it if you are trans or questioning, an ally who wants to understand their trans friends better, or a person who just needs ammunition to fight the cis-tem.

Johnston presents a compassionate perspective on transgender issues as a trans man and practicing therapist, addressing some issues that are rarely brought up in discussions of trans identities, including the ways in which societal structures limit trans peoples abilities to feel legitimate even within their own sense of transgender identity without hitting some prescribed societal and cultural benchmarks. Its a bit light on references and data, but still a useful reference for a trans person who may be struggling with the legitimacy of their identity.

3.5 stars

while i don’t love non-fiction or self-help books, this one was refreshing. i really loved the way the book was laid out. as a trans non-binary person myself, i enjoyed seeing my identity be validated. i am normally very self-aware and know how to help myself, but there’s something about having it written down in front of you that really impacts you. sometimes, you see the answers and don’t want to accept it. i know that wasn’t the main point of this book, but that was the part that resonated with me the most: allow yourself to accept the good and not-so-good answers because both are necessary and worthy answers.

while some parts of the book really did open up my mind and helped me understand more about my identity, there were some moments that dragged on and felt disconnected for me. i’m sure the information itself was necessary and helpful for other people, but there were chapters where i felt like the information being given was inapplicable for me. there are some parts that hit you hard like a truck, but there are also some that don’t phase you and feel like just words on a page without any impact.

i did enjoy the book overall though. if you are a questioning trans person, this is the book for you. it does help you move through that unsureness that you feel and navigate through experiences you have already had or ones that are coming up in your future.

Such a lovely and validating experience, reading this book.

Overall, it is welcoming and educational and I would absolutely suggest it to anyone looking to learn more about themselves or a loved one.

First of all, let me say that I genuinely hope the ebook version of this title gets a lot of love prior to publication - because this formatting was a mess and actively detracted from my reading experience.

But that annoyance did not influence my rating. I think I mostly just found this book a little lackluster. Maybe it would be really fantastic for folks who are just starting to question their gender identity and if they are trans. But as a nonbinary/genderqueer individual who has existed within this identity for at least a handful of years… I didn’t really connect with much of it - and I’m honestly not sure I ever would have.

Maybe it’s because I have very rarely given much consideration to a bunch of transition-related options. I came out, I shared my pronouns, I dress a little differently. I’ve briefly considered testosterone and somewhat more seriously considered top surgery, but have currently decided that I’m okay with my body how it is. I was also already in a lot of Queer spaces with a lot of Queer friends. Sure, there have been some serious feels over the years pertaining to my identity and how others perceive or receive me, but I knew that it wasn’t going to completely change every aspect of my life.

So I think, in a rather humorous way, this book actually had the opposite effect on me; it had me feeling like I was NOT in fact trans enough. And that’s okay. It’s always been harder for me to identify as “trans” rather than “nonbinary” or simply “Queer.” And while I think I had hoped this book may change that and provide me with a better sense of belonging... I’m secure enough in my own identity to simply recognize that this particular title just didn’t end up being the right one for me.

The introduction was very reflective and the preface clearly stated language use, and the context of writing in a rapidly evolving field.
It takes a therapeutic perspective, but does not promise to give easy solutions or structures.
Essentially, it is a jumping off point for exploring internalised prejudice that might be causing stumbling blocks.
It considers intersubjectivity, and the nuances of someone's perspective and decision-making process.
The discussion of DSM, power and language was very interesting.
The book explores trauma and how to process it, as well as the overlap between neurodivergent and trans identities. This is rarely discussed and the book is worthwhile for these sections alone.

This book was absolutely beautiful!

It's everything I needed to read, it's so validating and lovely!

I want to preface my whole review by saying that anything I say within is influenced by my lived experience as a transmaculine person, by the nonfiction I've read by and about transgender people (limited as that is), and the fiction stories I've read including trans characters.
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"If you’ve ever wondered why trans people make cis people so mad, you can now see that it is because it threatens the arbitrariness of what has constrained their lives."
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One of the things this book highlights is how society as a whole is heteronormative, and values cisgender and heterosexual people over transgender and queer people. And to me that isn't new information, it's a lived experience, but not everyone will have seen that if they are cishet.
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It also makes a point of how listening to transgender people, and allowing them to express themselves and transition to make them more comfortable in their body is "allowable" because in blocking those actions it can lead to the s*icide rate of queer and specifically trans people being extremely high. Even now, shockingly high suicide statistics are still a primary tool to make cis people understand why trans care is necessary in the first place. Instead of “people will feel better,” it must be taken to the extreme of “if we do not allow them to do this, they will kill themselves.” There is nothing more certain than that.
~
Personally, using the rate of s*icide as a way of explaining why medical and social transition is necessary shouldn't even be something that has to happen. I feel as though if more information was given at a younger age (secondary school sex education perhaps), more people would be more open to learning.
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Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a deeply personal read for me, as I'm sure it will be for a lot of people who pick up this delight of a book.

Growing up, the trans narratives that I was exposed to in the 2000s usually fell into two categories: trauma through either pain or humiliation, and surprise at 'passing' as cis (in which they were sexualised). Many depictions in the media involved cis people feeling 'betrayed' when someone disclosed that they were trans and feeling like they were 'lied to' because they weren't really the gender they presented as, and once a trans person was open about being trans, they were usually subjected to violence.

All the trans people I remember being depicted in the media when I was growing up (because this was my only exposure to trans people until I was about 15) were trans women. Transness was always viewed through a cis lens, and if a trans person did not look like they were cis, they were made fun of. The world has thankfully evolved a little since then, but it can still be difficult for a person to express their gender as they wish to, leading to more fears that they aren't trans enough because they're not doing enough to be trans. Being trans in a cisnormative society is hard, but this book gives hope that you can be trans no matter what other people think.

This book resonated with me so much because it reflected my experiences growing up and growing into my gender identity. Being under the trans umbrella but not feeling like I can claim being trans because I don't identify as a binary gender is something I have struggled with for years. My exposure to transness solely being transmen or transwomen who wanted to both socially and medically transition made me feel like I couldn't be trans. I knew I wasn't cis, but if I couldn't be trans either then what was I? It prevented me from feeling comfortable for years as I didn't know where I fit in. I felt as though I couldn't use the pronouns I wanted to because I wasn't trans enough to do so .It set me back years and I'm sure other people who pick up this book and have either questioned their identity in the past, or are currently doing so, will also be able to identify with.

This book is viewing identity from a trans gaze and providing acceptance for those who may not have had it in the past. Whilst the target audience is primarily people under the trans umbrella, cis allies may also enjoy this as an insight into the anxieties that some trans people have regarding their gender identity and expression. It covers a variety of topics and challenges why people think they may not be trans enough to call themselves trans and how this can be helped.

This book is magic.
Yes, you are trans enough.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Only you can know how you feel.