Summary
Her Name is Alice, a book by Caroline Litman, tells the story of her transgender daughter Alice’s life and death, highlighting the devastating impact of transphobia and the urgent need for better understanding and care for transgender people.
Her Name Is Alice: Caroline Litman
“When my third child was born, I was told I had a boy. The baby was given a boy’s name and raised in that gender. But when she died, twenty years later, she died as my daughter, and will forever be remembered that way.”
On cold, foggy days in January 2025, Caroline Litman made her way to recording studios in London to read a book – her book, her words, her family’s life – her trans daughter’s death.
Caroline had the option to use voice-over artists to record the audio version of ‘Her Name Is Alice‘, but none of those who auditioned could do justice to Caroline’s words, so she bravely undertook the task herself.
‘Her Name is Alice‘ is not just another book.
It is a pivotal work that has emerged as the most important book to the trans community in a decade. It shines a light on the immense struggles every trans person faces in the UK today – from the hate caused by the gender-critical activists and the right-wing culture war to, more specifically, the lack of gender-affirming healthcare, a significant factor in Alice’s death.
“Searing, urgent and utterly unique, Her Name is Alice is the raw, human story of a mother’s love and grief for her child – and of a young trans woman who is impossible to forget and who must be remembered.” – Amazon.
“‘Thoughtful, beautiful, incredibly necessary. People need to read this book, especially if they feel a resistance to. I wish everyone would.” – Sofie Hagen
“Uncompromising, anguished, combative: culture wars have victims, and this is an agonising story told with honesty and passion.” – Richard Beard
“An urgent, powerful call for people to be trusted, supported, and cared for – in their gender identities, and as themselves. With searing honesty, Litman reveals the damage done to people and their loved ones when uninformed hostility subsumes understanding, and kindness.” – Elinor Cleghorn
‘”A heart-breaking book – also an incredibly important one. By telling frankly the story of her daughter’s life – a project that was ‘a drive, not a choice’ – Caroline Litman shines an unyielding, necessary light on the devastating impact of transphobia, and the urgent need for broader understanding of the emotional reality of trans lives” – John McCullough
“She just wanted to live how she wanted to”
Reported by the Guardian in October 2023 – with journalist Libby Brooks writing:
“Sitting together in the light-filled living room of their family home in Surrey, Caroline and Peter Litman finish one another’s sentences, as can happen after 28 years of marriage.“We’re not the most well-informed,” says Peter, 57, who wears a small ‘trans ally’ pin on his T-shirt.”
“We make mistakes and don’t always use the right words,” adds Caroline, 56.
Peter continues.
“But what we hope we can do to help the trans community is humanise the debate. This is just an ordinary family; a coherent, loving family that’s been ripped apart,”
“Not because Alice was transgender,” his wife says, “but because of the reaction to her being trans.”
Their youngest daughter, Alice Litman, was 20 years old and living in Brighton with a close friend when she died on 26 May 2022. Her parents believe firmly that their daughter’s struggles to access timely mental health intervention and gender-affirming care contributed significantly to her death.
Since becoming a staunch ally of the trans community, Caroline has herself become a victim of significant online abuse from gender-critical activists, which often affects her mental health.
She remains steadfast.
Alice’s story will be told.
Her Name is Alice will be available from 13th March 2025 via Amazon and other good booksellers.