I know I'm searching for bigfoot here but I have a request:

Does anyone who sees this post know of any novels, any genre, that are about trans people but don't heavily feature trans pain? Particularly novels about transfeminine people and especially particularly about trans wlw. Please give me your recs if you do know one!

I can't think of any, I desperately search for stories about people like me but they are all just so full of pain and hurt and like... Yeah I know being trans hurts sometimes. That's just my life. I'd like to read stories that give me hope instead, where that pain gets its catharsis.

I post this after just reading the sample on Amazon for Gretchen Felker-Martin's excellent Manhunt. Great book seriously, I'll probably buy it at some point. It's about two trans women, and according to the blurb a trans man they join op with along the way, trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse where a virus has spread that reacts with testosterone in people's bodies and turns anyone with a male level of testosterone into zombies. Incredible premise, lots of Gender happening. Love it. Wonderful horror-comedy writing too. But it's just so full of pain. The dysphoria, the grim and hopeless outlook on life, even hatred from TERFs features heavily. It's rough and raw and all jagged edges and that's great, but like I said I already live that. I'm not at risk of turning into a zombie if I miss my hormones, but I do still get that bleak "what's the point of this transition" feeling somewhat often. I do still have to worry about hatred from "feminists" who should by all rights be my allies.

And I just can't think of any hopeful, joyous book about transfem people. It's always about the pain. When I was transitioning 5 years ago the thing to read was Nevada by Imogen Binnie and I couldn't get very far because it was just full of so much pain and cynicism about living a life like mine that I couldn't do it. It hurt.

So does anyone out there know happy books about people like me? Where being trans is presented as the complex and messy thing that it is, but the overall tone is about the hope and joy we can share?