Stone Williams, Paula

Paula Stone Williams, is an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and religious tolerance. She is also a pastor and pastoral counselor in Boulder County, Colorado. Williams has been featured in The New York Times, TEDWomen, Red Table Talk, The Denver Post, New Scientist Magazine, Radio New Zealand, and many other media outlets. As a Woman: What I Learned about Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned (Atria Books) is her memoir. A father of three, married to a wonderful woman, and holding several prominent jobs within the Christian community, Williams made the life-changing decision to physically transition from male to female at the age of 60. Almost instantly, her power and influence in the evangelical world disappeared and she was expelled from the churches she had once spearheaded. As she struggled to create a new safe space where she could reconcile her faith, her identity, and her desire to be a leader, she found that the key to her new life as a woman came with a deeper awareness of the inequities she had overlooked before her transition. Williams’ questions about gender, personhood, and place bring a deeper understanding of what it means to be male, female, and simply, human. “Not just a compelling personal memoir,” said Kirkus, “this book holds lessons for all of us.”