Glimmerings is a compilation of stories told by 15 trans elders. Champions exist in every community. These are the courageous, resolute, and independent spirits who defy, disrupt, and challenge the status quo; who remain unwaveringly true to themselves and their principles; who resist, persist, and insist on authenticity; who blaze trails for themselves as well as for those who follow; who create opportunities for understanding, learning, and change in the world. Glimmerings offers stories of trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit champions, innovators, and trailblazers who came of age in the 1930s to the 1980s, before the age of global communication, at a time when the Internet and worldwide connectivity were still visions of the future; when only inflexible, dichotomous categories of male and female existed; when heterosexuality was the only sanctioned form of romantic attraction or sexual conduct; and when any expression of interest outside of these strict prescriptions was severely censured. Glimmerings tells about living in a time when those whose preferences, perspectives, and behaviours contravened prevailing expectations, when trans individuals had to negotiate dark, prejudicial places where they experienced fear, shame, guilt, despair, isolation, and sometimes a little bit of hope. Sparked by a comment made by Stephanie Castle, a Canadian trans woman and advocate for the rights of trans people, especially those incarcerated in the Canadian prison system, Glimmerings begins with the story of a dream Stephanie had as a 4 or 5 year old child in which she recognizes herself, not as the biological male she has been assigned at birth, but as a girl. Other authors in the volume recount similar experiences at equally young ages, of discovering that their authentic selves were in contradiction to and/or outside of their originally assigned genders. Growing up at that time, life for many was characterized by isolation, secrecy, prejudice, reproach, silence, and shame. Widespread, these sentiments were both externally imposed and sometimes self-inflicted. For those who were unable or unwilling to hide their differences, the consequences were often dire. Social support networks were virtually non-existent, there was no language to describe their feelings, and there were no legal protections for trans people. Being "out" routinely resulted in loss of respectability and socioeconomic stability. Secrecy, for many, was simply a matter of survival. Glimmerings provi