Dolores Gum is a powerful debut collection of contemporary poetry by Estra Genie that explores gender transition, transgender identity, chosen family, resilience, spirituality, and queer joy. Set against the backdrop of San Francisco's Dolores Park and its vibrant LGBTQ+ community, these poems trace the emotional landscape of becoming whole.

Drawing from lived experience, Estra Genie weaves together science, mythology, humor, and vulnerability to tell a deeply human story of transformation. Goddesses and witches stand alongside surgeons and scientists. Hospital rooms become places of rebirth. Chosen family becomes home. The body transforms from uncertainty into a place of belonging.

Through poems that celebrate love, sexuality, healing, community, grief, and self-discovery, Dolores Gum captures both the challenges and the extraordinary beauty of living authentically. Whether reflecting on gender-affirming healthcare, workplace challenges, friendship, or quiet moments of joy beneath the California sun, every poem invites readers into a world where identity is not something to hide-but something to celebrate.

Tender, irreverent, funny, and profoundly hopeful, Dolores Gum is a celebration of authenticity and an invitation to anyone learning to live beyond the limits others have placed upon them.

Perfect for readers of contemporary poetry, LGBTQ+ literature, queer memoir, and feminist and spiritual writing, Dolores Gum is a heartfelt exploration of what it means to claim your voice, your body, and your place in the world.

Best suited for adult readers.