Once Out of Nature

This compassionate, constructive volume by renowned author Joy Ladin collects eleven essays written between 2008, on the cusp of what Time called America's "transgender tipping point," and 2021, as anti-trans laws began metastasizing around America. Dr. Ladin, the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution (Yeshiva University), a nationally known speaker on transgender identities and issues, and founding figure in trans poetry and trans theology, has lived through and contributed to gender's bitterly debated and still unfolding transformation. Drawing on her experiences as a trans parent, spouse, teacher, and author, she writes honestly and insightfully about gender, exploring its intersections with feminisms, psychotherapy, divinity, ontology, and even the poems of Emily Dickinson. Written for any curious reader, these essays teach us about who we are, who we can be, and what it means to be human.