I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ME

A memoir from an “effeminate” Black boy who survived a dysfunctional childhood and adolescence to emerge into a life of "Black excellence" as a proud trans woman.

Brady-Davis grew up as a biracial, gender-nonconforming boy in Omaha. He was 2 years old when his birth mother, Tammy, lost custody of him and two siblings due to neglect. An extended series of stays with relatives and foster parents ensured a tumultuous adolescence. Church services and youth groups offered some consolation until he was called out on his apparent homosexual leanings during a Pentecostal service. Although he enjoyed "boy" activities such as kickball, he was also drawn to "brazen acts of femininity" such as wearing women’s shoes. In high school, his "queerness and penchant for performance" led him to theater and leadership groups focused on social justice issues, both of which he embraced fully. "I allowed myself to be more than just one version of myself,” writes the author. “I refused to uphold tenets of faith that prescribed bigotry." Now identifying as Precious, the author found herself in community service, the drag community, and LGBTQ+ groups. Declaring drag not "the only way to express my feminine gender-nonconforming identity," Precious began living as an out trans woman in Chicago, working in HIV prevention and as a coordinator for homeless youth. By 25, in "full blossom as a trans woman," she was directing a full portfolio of diversity initiatives at Columbia College Chicago. Meeting Myles Brady, a trans man and outreach worker for trans youth, "shattered" her preconceptions of Black masculinity. They became a "power couple" in their trans community and married in 2016. In an epilogue set three years later, the author chronicles how they became pregnant through in vitro fertilization, and they took part in a TV special about trans pregnancy. Now in a new position at the Sierra Club, the author is a shining example of a proud Black trans woman, celebrating genderqueerness in her work and personal lives.

An inspiring memoir of nonconformity.