Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20) Reminds us of Violence and High Suicide Rates Among Transgender Individuals

TDOR events to be held all over the world remind us of the violence directed at trans people. I've worked as a physician providing transgender care and primary care to individuals in the trans community for just under 20 years now. My transgender patients range from age 5 to 83. The violence directed at community members weighs heavily on all of us. Violence includes physical and verbal assault, with murder at the extreme. 

But we also experience the heartbreak of suicide. The transgender community reports a suicide attempt rate of nearly 50 percent - a higher suicide attempt rate than in any other population. This is true in adolescents and adults.

The suicide of a seventeen-year-old patient prompted me to write 'Where's MY Book?' A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents, & Everyone Else. In fact, the first chapter is titled, "The 9-1-1 Message: So What Should You Do if You Are Having Thoughts About Wanting to Die?"

We explore suicide risks, warning signals, and how to access help when a person's thoughts become so dark that suicide becomes a real consideration. Numbers of suicide hotlines for teens, adults, and parents are listed. 

I tell the story of a wonderful trans patient of mine who thinks about suicide so often, I've stopped asking her if she's suicidal. Rather, I ask her, "What do you do when you think about taking your own life?" Her immediate answer, "Anything else!" gave me a tool to use with other patients. We explore in practical terms what specific things one can do to get to the next minute, the next day.

Respectfully, we remember that "Life can get better, but only if you're breathing."

Linda Gromko, MD

'Where's MY Book?' A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents & Everyone Else is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle format. You can purchase it at my clinic, or through our clinic website at www.QueenAnneMedicalAssociates.com.

Where's MY Book? A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth Gains SSTAR Recognition

"Standing Forth," by Seattle Artist Jacqui Beck, is one of many paintings

featured in Where's MY Book?

SSTAR, the Society for Sex Therapy and Research, has awarded a "Special Mention" honor to Where's MY Book? A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents & Everyone Else. The award was announced Thursday by Stephen Snyder, MD.

SSTAR is an international society founded in 1975; its mission is "to foster clinical sexuality practice and research." The society aims to facilitate communication among clinicians who treat problems of sexual function, sexual identity and reproductive life.

Where's MY Book? has also been honored by an Eric Hoffer Award, two Benjamin Franklin silver medals, and a Global eBook gold medal. The book has also won the 2016 AASECT (American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists) Book Award.

The book is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats.

Linda Gromko, MD

www.LindaGromkoMD.com

"Where's MY Book?" Wins Global Ebook Gold Medal in LGBT Non-Fiction

"Tulips & Sky" by Seattle Artist Jacqui Beck is one of many paintings
featured in 'Where's MY Book?'

Where's MY Book? A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents, & Everyone Else took a gold medal in the Global EBook Awards, announced this evening. The gold medal was awarded in the category of LGBT Non-Fiction.

Where's MY Book? won the 2016 AASECT Book Award (American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, & Therapists), announced in June. 

It was also honored as an Eric Hoffer Award Winner in the category of Health, and took two silver medals in the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in the LGBT and Teen Non-Fiction categories.

Linda Gromko, MD

www.LindaGromkoMD.com

Where's MY Book? and The Teaching Transgender Toolkit Win AASECT 2016 Book Award

Two resources focusing on transgender health shared the 2016 Book Award announced at the Conference of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, & Therapists held last week in Puerto Rico.

"'Where's MY Book?' A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents & Everyone Else" was written by Linda Gromko, MD. The Seattle family physician has worked with the transgender community for 18 years. Gromko's book has also won the Eric Hoffer Award in the category of Health, and two silver metals in the Benjamin Franklin Awards, in the categories of LGBT and Teen Non-Fiction.

Seattle artist Jacqui Beck's painting is featured on the cover,
which was designed by graphic designer Bob Bost.

Sharing the honor was "The Teaching Transgender Toolkit: A Facilitator's Guide to Increasing Knowledge, Decreasing Prejudice, and Building Skills," by Eli Green PhD, CSE and Luca Maurer, CSE, CSC, CSES.

Linda Gromko, MD

www.LindaGromkoMD.com

Where's MY Book? A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents, & Everyone Else Wins Eric Hoffer Book Award

"Delight in the Bloom" is one of Jacqui Beck's many
paintings featured in "Where's MY Book?"


"'Where's MY Book?' A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents, & Everyone Else" was awarded the 2016 Eric Hoffer Book Award in the category of Health.


The US Review of Books acknowledged the book as follows:

"Even as society has evolved toward greater acceptance of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, the transgender and gender nonconforming individuals remain less tolerated and respected as full human beings. Dr. Gromko brings her years of experience as a family practitioner with a particular interest in transgender patients to this comprehensive and enlightening volume. Where’s My Book? works on many levels: It is a text on gender as biological and a social category. It is a reference work for individuals and families. It is passionate appeal for those often marginalized by a hetero-normative society. The jargon-free prose makes it accessible to younger readers, a particular population of interest to the author, while never compromising on scientific accuracy and completeness."

 

The Eric Hoffer Book Award is one of the largest international book awards for small, academic, and independent presses.

 

The book is available in paperback and in a Kindle version on Amazon.com.

 L.Gromko, MD
www.LindaGromkoMD.com

Where's MY Book? Wins Two Benjamin Franklin Awards

"'Where's MY Book?' A Guide for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth, Their Parents, & Everyone Else" won two Silver Medals in the Independent Book Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin Award Ceremony on April 8, 2016. The book was honored in the categories of LGBT and Teen Non-Fiction.



Dr. Linda Gromko holds her book and two
Benjamin Franklin certificates at the Salt Lake City ceremony



 



This year's competition drew 1400 entrees in 54 categories. The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards are considered among the most prestigious honors in the independent publishing sector.

"Where's MY Book?" is independently published by Bainbridge Books, a division of Queen Anne Medical Associates, PLLC. The book is sold on Amazon.com, at the medical practice location, and at Dr.Gromko's speaking engagements.