Quoting extracts from her journals, Grace describes her childhood. Her first memories were of dressing in her mother's clothing. She was a
military brat who lived in various places across America, as well as in Italy. At a church youth group, she began the Black Shadows and performed at church talent shows, but was asked to stop after a performance of
Nirvana's "
Heart-Shaped Box". After being arrested as a teenager, she began consuming
anarchist punk media. Approached by
NOFX to put out an EP, Grace declined the offer and asked
Fat Wreck Chords instead to release their album
Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy. After commercial success, Grace became addicted to cocaine and sex to relieve
gender dysphoria, and experienced backlash from the punk movement. She began attending
Narcotics Anonymous and wrote "
The Ocean" (2007) about her dysphoria. In 2009, knowing she was a woman, Grace decided to remove her "Ramblin' Boys of Pleasure" tattoo as the first step in her
transition. She publicly came out in 2012, and the 2013 Against Me! tour for
Transgender Dysphoria Blues saw an increased diversity in the fanbase. == Reception ==