Surpassing Certainty - by Janet Mock (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A few months before her twentieth birthday, Janet Mock is adjusting to her days as a first-generation college student at the University of Hawaii and her nights as a dancer at a strip club. Finally content in her body after her teenage transition, she vacillates between flaunting and concealing herself as she navigates dating and disclosure, sex and intimacy, and most important, letting herself be 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 relationship serve as a backdrop for Janet's progression through 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, Janet makes her way through New York City intent on building a career in the highly competitive world of magazine publishing--within the unique context of being trans, a woman, and a person of color. Hers is a timely glimpse about the barriers many face--and a much-needed guide on how to make a way out of no way.

Long before she became one of the world's most respected media figures and lauded leaders for equality and justice, Janet learned how to advocate for herself before becoming an advocate for others. In this "honest and timely appraisal of what it means to be true to yourself" (Booklist), Surpassing Certainty offers an "exquisitely packaged gift of her experiences...that signals something greater" (Bitch Magazine).

Review Quotes

"Far too many assume that Janet Mock's story is primarily about her body. This book is irrefutable evidence that Janet must be understood through her intellect, spirit, and wit. Janet does what only great writers of autobiography accomplish--she tells a story of the self, which turns out to be a reflection of all humanity. You will be changed by this book."--Melissa Harris-Perry, Wake Forest University Professor

Praise for Surpassing Certainty

"Brimming with liberated self-discovery, Mock's conversational memoir is smoothly written with plenty of insight and personal perspective....A defining chronicle of strength and spirit particularly remarkable for younger readers."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Redefining Realness is a riveting, emotional, crisply written testimony. I couldn't put it down. I aspire to be as unflinchingly brave! Janet Mock's story simultaneously embodies, complicates, and subverts the concept of American exceptionalism and self-creation."--Laverne Cox, actress, advocate, and star of Orange Is the New Black

"Janet Mock is a glamorous, smarty-pants writer and activist.... Her book about her life as a transwoman, Redefining Realness, isn't just a service to the trans community but to every woman - hell, person - who has struggled with identity."--Lena Dunham, actress and author of Not That Kind of Girl