We created this list to promote leadership narratives written by those who identify as LGBTQ+. This list is meant to be a resource, not an official endorsement. The books are not ranked or listed in any particular order.
Entrepreneurial You: Monetize Your Expertise, Create Multiple Income Streams, and Thrive by Dorie Clark
Seriously…I’m Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
Shut Up, I’m Talking!: Coming Out in Hollywood and Making It to the Middle by Jason Stuart
All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King
An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk’s Speeches and Writings by Harvey Milk
Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color by Gilbert Baker
The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer
Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words by Freddie Mercury
GuRu by RuPaul
The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper & his mom Gloria Vanderbilt
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome
Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing: Essays by Lauren Hough
Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of Their Jungle by Steven Yacovelli
Fit to Serve: Reflections on a Secret Life, Private Struggle, and Public Battle to Become the First Openly Gay U.S. Ambassador by James C. Hormel & Erin Martin
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror by Anthony D. Romero
Beautiful on the Outside: A Memoir by Adam Rippon
Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level by Leander Kahney
The Path Forward: Rethinking Federal Marijuana Policy by Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Rep. Jared Polis
Forever Young: The Story of Troye Sivan by Alana Wulff
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
Raf Simons by Sunny Chanday
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
Everybody’s Got Something by Robin Roberts & Veronica Chambers
Dear White People by Justin Simien
Michael Kors by Sunny Chanday
This is the Fire: What I say to My Friends About Racism by Don Lemon
Binge by Tyler Oakley
Tom Ford by Tom Ford
On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope by DeRay Mckesson
Blood, Bones, & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
White Girls by Hilton Als
Oh Myyy!: There Goes the Internet by George Takei
They Called Us Enemy: Expanded Edition by George Takei
The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps to You Can Stop Worrying by Suze Orman
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel & Blake Masters
Trust: America’s Best Chance by Pete Buttigieg
Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future by Pete Buttigieg
Nothing Personal by James Baldwin
Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey by Alvin Ailey & A. Peter Bailey
In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine by Donna M. Loring
Me by Ricky Martin
And a Voice to Sing With: A Memoir by Joan Baez
The Holly Woodlawn Story: A Low Life in High Heels by Holly Woodlawn
The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader (Latin America Otherwise) by Gloria Anzaldúa
I’m the One That I Want by Margaret Cho
WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game by Abby Wambach
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
We Will Not Cancel Us edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
Love and Rage by Lama Rod Owens
I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
Martina by Martina Navratilova
Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World by Andrew Reynolds
Representation Matters: How Victory Fund, Victory Institute, and LGBT Leaders are Transforming America by Karen Ocamb
Serving in Silence by Margarethe Cammermeyer
Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage by Barney Frank
Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes by Billie Jean King
Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making it Work by Tim Gunn
Queer Eye: Love Yourself, Love Your Life by Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk & Karamo Brown
My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope by Karamo Brown
Naturally Tan by Tan France
Over The Top by Jonathan Van Ness
71. One life by Megan Rapinoe & Emma Brockes
It’s About Damn Time by Arlan Hamilton
Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace, & The Will to Change by Jennifer Brown
Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa
Ma and Me: A Memoir by Putsata Reang
In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist prose by Alice Walker
Eat, Pray, Love: One woman’s search for everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Truth or Dare: Encounters with power, authority, and mystery by Starhawk
Stand Out: How to find your breakthrough idea and build a following around it by Dorie Clark
Feeling Power: Emotions and education by Megan Boler
And Now We Are Going to Have a Party by Nichola Griffith
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Fairest: A Memoir by Meredith Talusan
Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir by T Kira Madden
People Change by Vivek Shraya
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family by Garrard Conley
Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock
Warrior Princess: A US Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming Out Transgender by Kristen Beck & Anne Speckhard
Virtually Human by Martine Rothblatt, PhD
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography by Audre Lorde
I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyonceby Michael Arceneaux
I Don’t Want to Die Poor: Essaysby Michael Arceneaux
Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandateby Charlene Carruthers
The Queer Advantage: Conversations with LGBTQ+ Leaders on Power of Identityby Andrew Gelwicks
The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives are Excelling as Leaders… and What Every Manager Needs to Knowby Kirk Snyder
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein
No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black & Free in Americaby Darnell L Moore
All The Things She Said: Everything I Know About Modern Lesbian and Bi Cultureby Daisy Jones
The Queering of Corporate Americaby Carlos A. Ball
