You're Invited: 1st Being Alive Book Club live on Zoom (Mon Jan 27)

We're discussing Tomorrow Will Be Different in conversation with A4TE's Victoria Foster

It’s been a rocky start to 2025—I can’t wrap my brain and heart around the devastation in Los Angeles. There’s a meme floating around about how everyone in LA knows someone who lost everything. A tragic understatement.

Hold your people close, give what (and when) you can, and lean into the light. There’s so much need.

I myself wrote this while listening to a debriefing on the ongoing resistance to anti-trans motions happening here in the NYC public schools. I wrote about this situation last year after speaking in front of the District 2 Community Education Council. Assuming I’ve kicked the flu, I’ll be back at the CEC Wednesday night (Jan 15.) If you are local, I’d love some company.

Meanwhile, this week the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill rewriting Title IX to ban transgender and intersex girls and women from participating in sports. Ooof. It’s going to be a week.

The counterpoint to all of the above is connecting with each other. My heart is filled by all the people here taking up reading (or listening) to Rep. Sarah McBride’s memoir, Tomorrow Will Be Different. She’s someone to learn from:

As a society, we often get so consumed by the gender identity of transgender people that we forget that behind these national debates on trans rights, behind the newspaper stories and policy papers, are real people. Real people who love and laugh, hope and cry, fear and dream—just like everyone else.

I don’t think you will regret becoming more familiar with Sarah’s story. I am IN AWE of her life and her commitment to public service. Did you know she introduced the newly elected Governor of Delaware at his victory party, when she was in high school?! Did you know she was the first student body candidate at her university to knock on EVERY DOOR?! Did you know that she was the first transgender White House intern? The book ends, and she hasn’t even run for office (ok, since college.) And I haven’t even mentioned the heart-wrenching love story.

For the audio folks in the group, two more ways to get to know Sarah:

• Spotify subscribers can hear Sarah narrate her story.

• David Remnick interviewed Sarah after the election for The New Yorker Radio Hour. Will get into this more later, but highly recommend listening. (Or read.)

Now, on to the invite:

Two weeks from tonight, the 🏳️‍⚧️ Being Alive Book Club will gather on Zoom to talk about Tomorrow Will Be Different and Rep. Sarah McBride’s recent election to Congress. I am delighted to share that we will be joined in conversation with Victoria Foster, Annual Fund Officer at Advocates for Trans Equality. As an experienced advocate and fundraiser, Victoria brings together community members, concerned partners, and more to create exciting opportunities to direct funds towards trans liberation.

I met Victoria at a sexy, very queer holiday craft market in NYC in December. I looked across the room and thought—I want to know you! Thank you, Victoria, for talking shop in the middle of a bar and for saying yes when I invited you to kick off our new book club.

Join us? Monday, January 27 at 8p ET / 5p PT. Live on Zoom!

This book club is new, we’re going to figure this out together.

Here are more answers to questions you might be asking:

What again is the 🏳️‍⚧️ Being Alive Book Club?

A monthly, informal group of folks reading trans writers.

Where will the 🏳️‍⚧️ Being Alive Book Club meet?

We chat async all month long on Substack (thread here.)

We gather during the last week of the month to discuss live on Zoom. While the meeting will be recorded for archival purposes, it will not be released publicly. In the future, I might reconsider publishing for later viewing, but I am prioritizing participants' comfort in real-time versus making a video polished for distribution.

Does the Being Alive Book Club cost money?

Nope—free and open to ALL

Being Alive

subscribers (paid or not.)

I am restructuring my paid offering to ensure that all guests of the book club receive an honorarium (either personally or for their organization.) And that a % of my Substack subscription always goes to trans-organizations. You can contribute to these efforts and help offset the costs of running this offering by subscribing via Substack.

What is the 🏳️‍⚧️ Being Alive Book Club reading in February? June?

SO glad you asked. I have it allllll (ok, the next six months) mapped out. And already have two of the authors lined up to stop by our book chats. Stay tuned!

Have a recommendation? Drop it in the comments.

That’s all for now.

xx Kyle