From the acclaimed novelist, a firstofitskind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of colorfrom leading activists to artists to ordinary citizenswho tell their own stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance.So Many Stars knits together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and twospirit elders of color as they share authentic, intimate accounts of how they created space for themselves and their communities in the world. This singular project collects the testimonies of twenty elders, each a glimmering thread in a luminous tapestry, preserving their words for future generationswho can more fully exist in the world today because of these very trailblazers.De Robertis creates a collective comingofage story based on hundreds of hours of interviews, offering rare snapshots of ordinary life: kids growing up, navigating family issues and finding community, coming out and changing how they identify over the years, building movements and weathering the AIDS crisis, and sharing wisdom for future generations. Often narrating experiences that took place before they had the array of language that exists today to selfidentify beyond the gender binary, this generation lived through remarkable changes in American culture, shaped American culture, and yet rarely takes center stage in the history books. Their stories feel particularly urgent in the current political moment, but also remind readers that their experiences are not new, and that young trans and nonbinary people today belong to a long lineage.The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking, full of personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative. In De Robertis?s words, So Many Stars shares ?behindthescenes tales of what it meantand still meansto create an authentic life, against the odds.?