A rich and moving epistolary memoir about transgender childhood, sexual trauma, motherhood, and a young queer life in 1970s Argentina
WINNER OF THE ALA STONEWALL BOOK AWARD
As heard on NPR's Latino USA
In these hilarious and heartbreaking letters, Cecilia Gentili reinvents the trans memoir, putting the confession squarely between the writer and her enemies, paramours and friends. Writing to childhood figures such as her rapist's daughter, her father's mistress, her best friend, and her mother, Gentili probes deeply into the bitter cruelty, buried secrets, and delicious gossip of a small town. Is she here for revenge, or forgiveness? Both! And more! A story of sex, theft, murder, motherhood, and outrageous fashion choices, Faltas is a beautiful, messy meditation on what it takes to heal, and even grow.
Cecilia Gentili is Originally from Argentina, Cecilia Gentili came to the USA pursuing a safer life as a transgender woman. She lived undocumented for 10 years, hustling doing sex work which came with drug use. After surviving arrests and an immigration detention, she accessed recovery services and won asylum. She subsequently served as Director of Policy at GMHC and founded Transgender Equity Consulting, which works to ensure all people living on the margins receive dignity and respect. A storyteller and actress, Cecilia has appeared in FX's Pose and her own one-woman show. Faltas is her first book.