It’s the 1930s in Texas when Charlie Bader comes of age with urges he has struggled with since childhood and does not understand. After his new bride finds him wearing her own sexy lingerie and leaves him in disgust, he tries to move on. His efforts lead him to Chicago, where he stumbles on a community of cross-dressers and begins to attend their secret soirees. When Pearl Harbor is bombed, he volunteers for the army, serving as a dentist and trying once again to leave his obsession with soft clothes behind. Instead, his wartime experiences combined with the army's faulty record-keeping lead to his reappearance in the small town of Heaven, Indiana, as Charlene. There, Charlene opens a beauty shop where Heaven’s women safely share their stories and secrets as she shampoos, clips, curls, and combs their hair. Charlene deftly manages to keep her own story hidden and her sexual desires quiet until she falls in love with a female customer and her life begins to change.

Earth As It Is (Break Away Books)

LGBTQ+ Books

Adams, Steve

Weston, Julie

Maher, Jan

Koppelman, Susan

Tracy, Ann

Literature & Fiction

Break Away Book Club Edition

These fifteen short stories gathered by Susan Koppelman combine all the great themes of Christmas. They were written by American women over the last one hundred and twenty years, and all but two were published in the Christmas issue of a popular magazine or newspaper. 
There are stories of joyful family reunions, reconciliations, and renewals of the spirit. Some speak of the pain of those who are excluded or exclude themselves from the celebration; others are filled with the bitter ironies of those who betray the meaning of the season. Finally, there are stories about those whose holiday is not Christmas and for whom the season is a curious or threatening imposition on their lives.
Written by artists whose literary craft is exceptional and whose imaginations are visionary, these rich and insightful stories will continue to reward on repeated readings.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright and Other Christmas Stories by Women

History & Criticism

Wayne State University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Koppelman, Susan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Koppelman, Susan