4 stars

In _Paper Doll_, Mulvaney details her experiences pre-, during, and post-transition, which range from relationships with friends and family and herself to romance and physicality to performing arts to general aspects of identity. Though Mulvaney is only in her 20s, she has LIVED and she has a lot of insight to provide into her experience. Importantly, she also reminds readers instantly that her story is hers only. She does not intend for this content to reflect trans people and their experiences overall. This is vital level setting for a very specific kind of (performative/virtue signaling) reader.

While I'd heard of Mulvaney prior to reading this, these sound bytes were often via other folks I follow in some capacity. In other words, I came to this read with very little information about Mulvaney and her experiences, and this lens informed my reading. Mulvaney clarifies at the top that she writes how she speaks, and this is intended to be a bit informal and conversational. I'm grateful I had the chance to listen to the audiobook, narrated by Mulvaney, because this modality adds so much in terms of inflection, emotion, and personalization. When and where accessible, I recommend this modality strongly.

Trans folks have a rough road in this country because we are at such an appalling and embarrassing time in our history, and it seems more vital than ever that we all connect with and support trans creators and their stories. This is a compelling read (and listen!) because of current circumstances but not ONLY because of that. Mulvaney provides an engaging, vulnerable, and for many enlightening glimpse into her life, and it was a pleasure to learn more about her. I will absolutely read more from her.

Stemming from the success of her iconic “Days of Girlhood” series on TikTok, Dylan Mulvaney gives us an even deeper glimpse into her life coming out as a trans woman. She reveals that, even while being the face of trans rights, getting to that point was rife with family challenges and right-wing backlash, in addition to the monumental and mundane moments of transition.

I admit that I followed Dylan peripherally, and really came to follow her after the beer company backlash. In her memoir, Dylan doesn’t hold back in sharing some of the gritty moments of her very public journey, juxtaposed next to some of the courageous moments like dancing in front of President Joe Biden after being invited to the White House to discuss trans rights. Fans of “Days of Girlhood” will enjoy this memoir, and the audio version added to the humor and wittiness as she brings the same charm to her audiobook that she does to her TikToks. While she isn’t the only face of trans rights, it was so wonderful to hear about her trans girl joy.

Reviewed as part of #ARC from #NetGalley. Many thanks to Abrams Books & RB Audio for the opportunity to read and review. #PaperDoll #DaysofGirlhood


(Posted on Goodreads 3/1/25. Scheduled to post to Instagram on or around 3/12/25).

My feelings about Dylan Mulvaney have fluctuated throughout her time in the public eye - is she "doing enough" with her platform? is she being authentic? should she be doing more to uplift trans women of color?

After listening to her memoir, I've decided I'm a Dylan girl. I had never realized how new her trans-ness was when she started sharing every bit of her life with a difficult world. Along her journey, she's celebrated women of all kinds while earnestly trying to do what is right at every turn. This memoir reminded me of how misleading parasocial relationships can be and deepened my respect for Dylan in a huge way.

I really loved that this book felt like a longer, more intimate version of Dylan's Days of Girlhood videos! This was such a sweet and thoughtful narrative about trans identity in the era of the internet that is much needed. Her experience is obviously so different from that of other trans women -- which is already something that is far from monolithic -- but it's an incredibly important one. Listening to this in audio form was especially a treat! Dylan is so talented and she really put everything into the narration. It was so entertaining and really added to the experience. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the inclusion of the ayahuasca retreat. This was something that was particularly grating to me as an Indigenous person, since its so widely appropriated by white spiritualists. I respect her for going to Peru and supporting actual Indigenous practitioners, but it seemed like she did so through a white foreigner who facilitated the whole thing. I understand the inclusion of this in the story, as it was an eye opening and liberating experience for her -- but man.... as someone who comes from a tribe whose spirituality revolves around similar ceremony, it just extra hurts to see affluent white people easily accessing this as a resource and knowing that actual Indigenous people aren't able to access it themselves because of the myriad of barriers there.