Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson
Tourmaline Tourmaline
Black transgender luminary Tourmaline brings to life the first definitive biography of the revolutionary activist Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most important and remarkable figures in LGBTQIA+ history, revealing her story, her impact, and her legacy. “She is the preeminent and foremost scholar on Marsha P. Johnson. . . . To us, Tourmaline is the expert.”—Janet Mock, Allure “Thank god the revolution has begun, honey.” Rumor has it that after Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, she picked up a shard of broken mirror to fix her makeup. Marsha, a legendary Black transgender activist, embodied both the beauty and the struggle of the early gay rights movement. Her work sparked the progress we see today, yet there has never been a definitive record of her life. Until now. Written with sparkling prose, Tourmaline’s richly researched biography Marsha finally brings this iconic figure to life, in full color. We vividly meet Marsha as both an activist and She performed with RuPaul and with the internationally renowned drag troupe The Hot Peaches. She was a muse to countless artists from Andy Warhol to the band Earth, Wind & Fire. And she continues to inspire people today. Marsha didn’t wait to be freed; she declared herself free and told the world to catch up. Her story promises to inspire readers to live as their most liberated, unruly, vibrant, and whole selves.
Publication Year: 2025
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~~Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the ARC!~~
It's been a while since a book made me cry this hard. I had to use, like, five tissues, but, to be honest, it should've been a lot more.
Anyway, I'm firmly taking the stance that this book is the autobiography of the year and everyone needs to read it.
Like many, I became of Marsha at some point in the last few years but never knew anything about her other than she was one of the heads of the LGBTQ+ movement through the Stonewall riots and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. This book truly showed me she was so much more than that. She was a mother figure who took in and cared for other trans people, she was a force of nature on and off the stage, she was a deeply spiritual person who prayed for her deceased loved ones to become flowers so they'd live forever inside her (That really got me. Even now the tears threaten to come back.), Marsha was a whole person who was beloved, complex, and wholly human. Tourmaline really brought this queen's personality to life through her writing.
I also loved the wider queer history included, as well as learning about other major trans women such as Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major, Mary Jones, etc. Tourmaline painted such vivid pictures of the state of the world around Marsha. From the heavy discrimination and brutality from the police to the exclusion from gay/lesbian spaces despite having propelled the movement to the height of the AIDS/HIV crisis, having history culminated through Marsha's life felt more personable and real than anything I've read before.
All in all, I absolutely love this book. This book couldn't have come at a more perfect time, when we need stories such as Marsha's told more than ever. This book will definitely will be sticking with me for a long time.
0Marsha is the story of Marsha P. Johnson, a trailblazer in LGBTQIA+ history, as told by Tourmaline, a queer transgender woman, artist, writer, filmmaker, and activist. Marsha chronicles the life of Marsha P. Johnson from her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, her times as a Time Square Hustler, her involvement in the iconic Stonewall Riots, as an activist, a performer, an advocate and carer in the AIDS epidemic, though her untimely death. Marsha does not fixate or speculate on her cause of death, rather it celebrates her life and legacy. Marsha is a must read. Tourmaline does an incredible job honoring Marsha. The story of Marsha P. Johnson & her pivotal role in the Stonewall Riot is especially relevant today, as the rights of trans people, the queer community, and marginalized groups are under fire today. Thank god the revolution has begun, honey
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