Janet Mock's New Book 'Surpassing Certainty' Coming In June

When we spent some quality time together at Chautauqua Institute making some history back in August as the first out trans people to ever grace a CHQ tage that has had former presidents, senators and other luminaries and thought leaders on it,  in the quiet moments we had before that historic event, she told me that she was working on a new book.

That book my New York Times bestselling author sis was telling me about during that quality time we spent in Western New York I was happy to discover this weekend will be out in June.

It is entitled Surpassing Certainty, What :My Twenties Taught Me. is a memoir that focused on a young woman searching for purpose and place in the world without a roadmap to guide her on how to move forward.

This sounds interesting already.

Before she could become an advocate for others, she had to first become an advocate for herself, and through trial and error, she did,

From Janet's website about the upcoming book.

Surpassing Certainty begins a few months before Janet Mock’s twentieth birthday.

She is adjusting to her days as a first-generation college student at the University of Hawaii and her nights as a dancer at a club. Finally content in her body, she vacillates between flaunting and concealing herself as she navigates dating and disclosure, sex and intimacy, and most important being truly seen. Under the neon lights of Club Nu, Janet meets Troy, a yeoman stationed at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, who becomes her first. The pleasures and perils of their union serve as a backdrop for Janet’s progression through her early twenties with all the universal growing pains – falling in and out of love, living away from home, and figuring out what she wants to do with her life.

Fueled by her dreams and an inimitable drive, a woman with few advantages plots her way through New York City while holding her truth close. She builds a career in the highly competitive world of New York magazine publishing – within the unique context of being trans, a woman and a person of color.

Long before she became one of the world’s most respected voices in media and lauded leaders for equality and justice, Janet was a girl taking the time she needed to just be – to learn how to advocate for herself before becoming an advocate for others. Surpassing Certainty will embolden you as you witness Janet’s slow-won successes and painful failures, shift the way you see others, and affirm you as you seek certainty in yourself.

You already knew I was going to put the link up so that you can preorder it and get what I am certain will be Janet's next New York Times bestselling book.  

I'm looking forward to reading this one just like I did with Redefining Realness, Hope you purchase Surpassing Certainty and get a few extra copies to donate to TBLGQ centers, libraries or as a gift to that trans person in your life. 

I'm also looking forward to the next time we're in the same area code.

Moni's Going To The LGBT Media Journalist Convening

Didn't find out about this event until it was way too late to attend last year.  Irritates me even more that it was in my Houston backyard. 

This year I was one of the people invited to attend the 2013 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening being held February 22-24.  It'll be the first time I've been back in the Philadelphia area since my 2009 Bryn Mawr speech..

It's an event in its fourth year that is made possible through a grant from the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, and administered by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

This year's theme for the Philadelphia convening will be “Coalition Building”  Social justice leaders will be on hand to pass on the latest developments to the TBLG reporters and bloggers in attendance and educate us about emerging and pressing issues.   Some of the topic we will tackle are new developments in immigration, international issues, trans issues, race relations, the labor movement and LGBT seniors.  .

The goal of the forum is to strengthen the capacity of LGBT members of the media and blogosphere to more deeply understand and more effectively communicate regarding critical issues facing the LGBT community, as well as assist in increasing the presence and diversity of LGBT bloggers in the national blogging community.


This is also the second year the NGLJA has been part of this forum

There were 40 participants at last year’s convening in my hometown, and there are 70 invitees expected to come to the City of Brotherly Love for the 2013 Convening.

For my TransGriot readers in the Philly area,there will be a meet and greet event at the Tavern on Camac, 243 S. Camac Street. I and many of your fave bloggers and rainbow flag community journalists will be there.to hang out with.

I'm looking forward to the convening on several levels.  I'll get the latest news I can pass on to you TransGriot readers while seeing some old friends in the blogging and LGBT media world and meeting some new ones.   And oh yeah, if I have time, I'm definitely going to make sure I get a cheesesteak while I'm there.

See y'all in Philly next week.