BURN THE PAGE

The first out transgender state legislator in American history reflects on her unlikely rise to prominence.

Working in politics had never been Roem’s dream. Stuck in a dead-end food-service job and heavily in debt, she was also a dedicated journalist who had “logged ten years of experience and thousands of bylines” as a local reporter. Then, in 2016, a political contact told her she should run against Bob Marshall, who, years earlier, “proudly declared…that he was Virginia’s “chief homophobe.’ ” That suggestion turned into Roem's eureka moment, when she went from seeing herself as an “inadequate failure” to a woman who could make a significant difference in the lives of others. Roem revisits her “white, middle-class” past, delving into early heartbreaks—including her father’s suicide—and tracing her experiences living with her mother, who, until she repartnered, worked to support both her children and aging parents. The perpetual outsider who came into awareness of her transness in adolescence, Roem embraced heavy metal music and formed a band, which became an outlet for the hard-partying lifestyle that marked the years before her transition. During her 2017 political campaign, that lifestyle, along with her transness, became fodder for Marshall, her staunchly anti–LGBTQ+ opponent. But rather than succumb to his objectionable attacks, Roem put into practice “the lessons learned and skill sets developed as a reporter holding politicians’ feet to the fire and actually be that person in office who I thought should be there—honest, transparent, accountable, and, above all, real.” With grace and humor, Roem owned up to all of her youthful mistakes and wore her trans womanhood and metalhead quirkiness with pride. Though indulgence in details occasionally hijacks the narrative flow, this colorful, no-holds-barred account of Roem’s life and political work still delights for its unabashed candor.

An inspiring story of self-acceptance and determination.