Ayoh - Shop now
$12.99

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters Kindle Edition

4.8 out of 5 stars 8,552 ratings

NAMED A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2021 BY THE TIMES AND THE SUNDAY TIMES

"Irreversible Damage . . . has caused a storm. Abigail Shrier, a Wall Street Journal writer, does something simple yet devastating: she rigorously lays out the facts." —Janice Turner, The Times of London

Until just a few years ago, gender dysphoria—severe discomfort in one’s biological sex—was vanishingly rare. It was typically found in less than .01 percent of the population, emerged in early childhood, and afflicted males almost exclusively.

But today whole groups of female friends in colleges, high schools, and even middle schools across the country are coming out as “transgender.” These are girls who had never experienced any discomfort in their biological sex until they heard a coming-out story from a speaker at a school assembly or discovered the internet community of trans “influencers.”

Unsuspecting parents are awakening to find their daughters in thrall to hip trans YouTube stars and “gender-affirming” educators and therapists who push life-changing interventions on young girls—including medically unnecessary double mastectomies and puberty blockers that can cause permanent infertility.

Abigail Shrier, a writer for the
Wall Street Journal, has dug deep into the trans epidemic, talking to the girls, their agonized parents, and the counselors and doctors who enable gender transitions, as well as to “detransitioners”—young women who bitterly regret what they have done to themselves.

Coming out as transgender immediately boosts these girls’ social status, Shrier finds, but once they take the first steps of transition, it is not easy to walk back. She offers urgently needed advice about how parents can protect their daughters.

A generation of girls is at risk. Abigail Shrier’s essential book will help you understand what the trans craze is and how you can inoculate your child against it—or how to retrieve her from this dangerous path.
Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
Hydrate & focus with every sip Shop now

From the Publisher

Post Millennial

Economist

Times of London

Christian Post

John Podhoretz

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Courage is a rare trait. Abigail Shrier has it in abundance. She defies the politically correct tide to write a moving and critically needed book about a terrible new plague that endangers our children—‘rapid-onset gender dysphoria.’ This book explains what it is, how it has spread, and what we can do about it. And Irreversible Damage is as readable as it is important.”

Dennis Prager, nationally syndicated radio talk show host and bestselling author of The Rational Bible

“Writing honestly about a difficult and vital topic, Shrier compassionately analyzes the evidence regarding rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD), a phenomenon declared off-limits by many in the media and the scientific establishment. Shrier simply isn’t willing to abandon the future of a child’s mental health to propagandistic political efforts. Shrier has actual courage.”

Ben Shapiro, editor in chief of The Daily Wire and host of The Ben Shapiro Show

“In
Irreversible Damage, Abigail Shrier provides a thought-provoking examination of a new clinical phenomenon mainly affecting adolescent females—what some have termed rapid-onset gender dysphoria—that has, at lightning speed, swept across North America and parts of Western Europe and Scandinavia. In so doing, Shrier does not shy away from the politics that pervade the field of gender dysphoria. It is a book that will be of great interest to parents, the general public, and mental health clinicians.”

Kenneth J. Zucker, Ph.D., adolescent and child psychologist and chair of the DSM-5 Work Group on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders

“Thoroughly researched and beautifully written.”

Ray Blanchard, Ph.D., head of Clinical Sexology Services at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health from 1995–2010

“Abigail Shrier dares to tell the truth about a monstrous ideological fad that has already ruined countless children’s lives. History will look kindly on her courage.”

Michael Knowles, host of The Michael Knowles Show

“Abigail Shrier has written a deeply compassionate and utterly sobering account of an unprecedented and reckless social experiment whose test subjects are the bodies and psyches of the most emotionally vulnerable among us.”

John Podhoretz, editor of Commentary magazine and columnist for the New York Post

“For no other topic have science and conventional wisdom changed—been thrown away—more rapidly than for gender dysphoria. For a small but rapidly growing number of adolescent girls and their families, consequences have been tragic. This urgently needed book is fascinating, wrenching, and wise. Unlike so many of the currently woke, Abigail Shrier sees clearly what is in front of our faces and is brave enough to name it.
Irreversible Damage will be a rallying point to reversing the damage being done.”

J. Michael Bailey, author of The Man Who Would Be Queen and professor of psychology at Northwestern University

“Abigail Shrier has shed light on the profound discontent of an entire generation of women and girls and exposed how transgender extremists have brainwashed not just these young women, but large portions of the country.”

—Bethany Mandel, editor at Ricochet.com, columnist at the Jewish Daily Forward, and homeschooling mother of four

“Every parent needs to read this gripping travelogue through Gender Land, a perilous place where large numbers of teenage girls come to grief despite their loving parents’ efforts to rescue them.”

—Helen Joyce, senior staff writer at The Economist

“Gender transition has become one of the most controversial issues of our time. So much so that most of us simply want to avoid the subject altogether. Such evasion can be just the thing that gives the majority an excuse to look away from the suffering of our fellow human beings. Abigail Shrier chooses to take the bull by the horns. She dives straight into this most sensitive of debates. The product is a work brimming with compassion for a vulnerable subset of our population: teenage girls. It is a work that makes you want to keep reading because it is accessible, lucid and compelling. You find yourself running out of reasons to look away. A must-read for all those who care about the lot of our girls and women.”

—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and member of Dutch Parliament from 2003–2006

“Shrier’s timely and wise exploration is simultaneously deeply compassionate and hard-hitting. First carefully laying out many of the physical, psychological, and societal effects of the ‘transgender craze,’ she then points to the inconsistencies within the ideology itself. This book deftly arms the reader with tools for both recognizing and resisting, and will prove important for parents, health care professionals, and policy makers alike.”

—Heather Heying, evolutionary biologist and visiting professor at Princeton University

"If you want to understand why suddenly it seems that (mostly) young girls from (mostly) white middle- or upper-class backgrounds (many of whom are in the same friend groups) have decided to start dressing like boys, cutting their hair short, changing their name to a masculine one, and even taking hormones, using chest compressors, and getting themselves surgically altered, you must read Abigail K. Shrier’s urgent new book,
Irreversible Damage."

--
Commentary Magazine [review by Naomi Schaefer Riley]

About the Author

Abigail Shrier is a writer for the Wall Street Journal. She is a graduate of Columbia College, where she received the Euretta J. Kellett Fellowship; the University of Oxford; and Yale Law School. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07YL6XK55
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Regnery
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 30, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.9 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 293 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1684510467
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars 8,552 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Abigail Shrier
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Abigail Shrier is the New York Times bestselling author of BAD THERAPY: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up (2024), also an international bestseller. She received the Barbara Olson Award for Excellence and Independence in Journalism in 2021.

Her previous national bestseller, IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (2020), was named a ‘Best Book’ by The Economist and The Times (of London). Her books have been translated into seventeen languages.

Shrier holds an A.B. from Columbia College, where she received the Euretta J. Kellett Fellowship; a B.Phil. from the University of Oxford; and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
8,552 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find this book well-researched and highly readable, particularly as a must-read for parents of girls and educators. The writing is clear and compassionate, with thought-provoking stories and true-life narratives. Customers appreciate its balanced approach to transgender issues, with one customer noting its encyclopedic information on the topic. Customers praise the book's braveness, with one describing it as a "heroic book with a desperate message."

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

471 customers mention "Research quality"448 positive23 negative

Customers praise the book's research quality, finding it informative and well-researched, with one customer noting its good mix of case studies and sources.

"...aim is to promote safe, compassionate, ethical and evidence-informed healthcare for children, adolescents, and young adults with gender dysphoria...." Read more

"...show that there have been changes (for better or for worse) and can guide treatment even when the patient is unable to verbalize..." Read more

"...It’s a book that deserves to be approached with an open mind, critical thinking, and a genuine concern for the well-being of children and families." Read more

"...is a very highly recommended objective, balanced examination and exploration of the current and dramatic increase of the number of teenage girls..." Read more

373 customers mention "Readability"356 positive17 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a must-read and an important resource, particularly for educators.

"Great book to find out what the pro-trans media and trans activists don't tell you...." Read more

"This was an amazing book...." Read more

"Loved reading this. The author has an interesting tone, it makes you feel as if the author in the room, talking to you directly...." Read more

"...It's a compelling book, but some of what Abigail Shrier has unearthed is truly disturbing...." Read more

222 customers mention "Writing quality"215 positive7 negative

Customers praise the book's writing quality, noting it is well-structured and highly readable, with customers appreciating the author's intelligence and bravery in tackling the subject matter.

"...and professionals on both sides of the issue in this informative, well written and presented examination of this current trend...." Read more

"Overall, I think this book is very well researched and well written...." Read more

"Loved reading this. The author has an interesting tone, it makes you feel as if the author in the room, talking to you directly...." Read more

"...are just concerned about their health and welfare, I recommend this well-written and researched, accessible book...." Read more

123 customers mention "Emotional content"92 positive31 negative

Customers appreciate the book's emotional content, finding it compassionate and full of emotion for many people, while being very personal. One customer notes it provides a compassionate analysis of a social contagion.

"...Our aim is to promote safe, compassionate, ethical and evidence-informed healthcare for children, adolescents, and young adults with gender dysphoria..." Read more

"...the surge in adolescent girls identifying as transgender—touches on deeply personal, societal, and medical issues, making it both compelling and..." Read more

"...The book was informative, thoughtful, and compassionate. One chapter I found troubling was called, “Childhood Dysphoria and Desistence.”..." Read more

"...There is no doubt some truth here: these girls are unquestionably in pain. Their mental anguish would seem to merit adult compassion...." Read more

105 customers mention "Pacing"81 positive24 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book compelling, with thought-provoking stories and true life narratives that are both shocking and frightening.

"...on deeply personal, societal, and medical issues, making it both compelling and divisive. This is not an easy book to summarize or review...." Read more

"...Very informational and very interesting" Read more

"...increase in facial hair, redistribution of body fat, and the cessation of periods...." Read more

"...book lacks both impartiality and compassion, and instead takes on a completely irreverent and downright offensive tone at times, not just towards..." Read more

97 customers mention "Transgender content"82 positive15 negative

Customers appreciate the book's coverage of transgender issues, with one customer noting its encyclopedic information on the topic and another highlighting its balanced approach to gender dysphoria.

"...Our aim is to promote safe, compassionate, ethical and evidence-informed healthcare for children, adolescents, and young adults with gender dysphoria..." Read more

"...This is not a transphobic book, unless information is something to be feared...." Read more

"...By the way, this is not a transphobic book. Shrier does not disparage trans people or consider them sick or sinful...." Read more

"...I hope this book gains wide circulation and increases awareness of this craze among teenage girls. It is a sobering call for common sense to prevail." Read more

31 customers mention "Balance"31 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the balanced approach of the book.

"...could not be more pleased with Shrier’s compassionate, factual and balanced book...." Read more

"...by Abigail Shrier is a very highly recommended objective, balanced examination and exploration of the current and dramatic increase of the number..." Read more

"...job of taking a very complicated subject and viewing it in a fair and level-headed way...." Read more

"...The author offers a balanced and well researched tool that you won't find anywhere else...." Read more

21 customers mention "Braveness"21 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's braveness, with one noting it's particularly relevant for scary times.

"This writer is thorough and supports what she says. Brave." Read more

"...This is a brave book with a desperate message, and this isn’t the last time we’ll be hearing it." Read more

"...The anger from the activists is alarming. Bravo for this book and it’s braveness." Read more

"...Finally, I want to commend Shrier on her bravery and intestinal fortitude...." Read more

A must read wonderfully written book
5 out of 5 stars
A must read wonderfully written book
I am so happy, I came across this book. It is an eye opener. It is a well written and researched page turner. You could google and find all the professionals and their works mentioned. It should be read by everyone young or old. I put it on my coffee table so my kids could read and learn. I truly believe there are people who have gender dysphoria, but “Unlike traditional gender dysphoria, this one seemed encouraged and intensified by friends and social media.”, A. Shrier writes. True and I experienced it myself. I was involved with one of the High School clubs. How come out of 20 or so club members, 3 young people transitioned in to a different gender. And they are the ones that I know off. There could have been more. Thank you so much for writing this thought provoking book. Perhaps the other one should be about “lost boys”. Can't wait!
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020
    These are some points I want to make, not a summary of the book. Shrier may or may not agree with what I say or how I say it.

    To be clear at the start, I support basic human rights for all people, including people who wish to present socially as the stereotypic opposite sex, or even, as adults, alter their bodies as part of that quest. However, it is not a basic human right to force other people to deny material realities. Sex is a material reality, not a social construct. I do not support the anti-science ideology that conflates and confuses sex with personality/gender, claiming human sex (biology) is therefore a “spectrum”, or a “social construct”, or that a person’s sex at conception can later be changed — it cannot.

    Personality is a spectrum, or actually a series of spectrums, and hopefully evolves somewhat over a lifetime as we mature. The political left seems to think that supporting the LGBT population requires total capitulation to an irrational ‘genderist’ (sexist) ideology that, like far right religious conservatism, locks sex and personality together. On the right, a girl who likes to play with trucks should squelch that interest and strive to enjoy only properly “feminine” (?) activities like the universe intended. Ridiculous. On the left, a girl who likes to play with trucks should recognize she is a boy and start puberty blockers, then testosterone, then double mastectomy. Ridiculous — a blatant revival of old-fashioned sexism in an even more destructive form. What to do? Make sure she has some trucks to play with. It’s part of her girlhood.

    Many on the left either have no idea what is going on, or they are blinded by genderist ideologues who have captured the conversation with BIG MONEY support ultimately coming from the gender clinics, hormone manufacturers, and pornography empires who want all the bodies and eyeballs they can get. On the11thhourblog, you can follow the money powering the insidious marketing campaign. These big dollar interests, disguised as a civil rights movement, have corrupted LGBT organizations, the ACLU, the Dems, the academy, feminism, the liberal media, healthcare professionals and more. This left-leaning LGBT person could not be more pleased with Shrier’s compassionate, factual and balanced book. Someone who actually cares enough about young girls to stick her neck way out there in this era of unreason.

    I do not want teenage girls to be misdirected and gaslit about the nature of sex, or forced to compete with boys in sports where male physicality gives an innate advantage, or forced to share female spaces with boys.

    So...what a breath of fresh air this book is, exposing the role of social media, money, and the new cultish version of “trans” in making life for some adolescent girls too painful to bear. If you care about your children’s science education and/or sex education, read this book. If you have a daughter, read this book.

    7/11/20 Edit:
    Schrier ends the book with seven ideas for parents of girls to consider. I would add one more idea into the mix:

    8. Learn how destructive relationships and groups can gain control of a person, and teach your children how to recognize the tactics of cults and thought control.

    I recommend TERROR, LOVE AND BRAINWASHING by Alexandra Stein. Also consider books by Robert Lifton or Steven Hassan. Finally, read a disturbing 2017 paper written by Jenn Smith, a Canadian trans-identified male: “Synanon, the Brainwashing Game and Modern Transgender Activism: The Orwellian Implications of Transgender Politics.” You can google it.

    7/25/20 Edit:
    I have just learned about a new organization of healthcare professionals who recognize the problem with the current ‘gender affirmative’ model and have banded together to promote evidence-based gender medicine. These adults are standing up together in a way that makes them more difficult to silence. I am grateful.

    SEGM - Society for Evidenced-Based Gender Medicine. “Our aim is to promote safe, compassionate, ethical and evidence-informed healthcare for children, adolescents, and young adults with gender dysphoria.”

    12/6/20 Edit:
    In the UK on 12/1/20, Keira Bell age 23 won her case against the NHS Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service. The Court determined that adolescents and children under age 16 are NOT capable of giving consent to life-altering medical and surgical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries to address gender dysphoria. Further, at ages 16-17 physicians should consider obtaining a court order for such treatment. This is a major win in the fight against the rampant medical transing of children. You can read the judgment for yourself by searching Bell-v-Tavistock.

    12/21/20 Edit:
    Within the last couple of days Amazon has deleted all the comments made in response to reviews. About 23 comments were made in response to my review. That dialogue was genuine and beneficial. I am sorry to see it has been removed from view.
    8,930 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2025
    Great book to find out what the pro-trans media and trans activists don't tell you. I'm a transwoman and did similar research as the author and found most of what she said is right. Kids are indoctrinated in gender ideology starting in pre-K up through high school teaching young, vulnerable minds how they “feel” about their bodies determines their gender. So a girl who’s a tomboy, likes sports and plays with boys, or is just uncomfortable going through puberty—what girl hasn’t?—must be a boy. Or a boy who’s artistic, isn’t into sports and likes “feminine” things must be a girl.

    Many schools prohibit teachers from notifying parents when a student changes gender (name and pronoun change and sometimes attire, hair style, etc). A school is required to notify a child’s parents before giving them an aspirin. Yet something as dramatic as gender transition is kept a secret. When questioned teachers will say it’s a “safety issue” in case parents aren’t accepting. However, parents are under no obligation to “affirm” their child’s trans identification and may have good reasons not to do so, especially with the social contagion aspect of being trans, it being trendy in schools, and Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) where teens are suddenly identifying as “trans” who exhibited no previous gender variant behavior.

    It’s trendy now in schools and colleges to be LGBTQ (particularly trans) and kids are “coming out” to be cool, due to peer pressure or to play the minority card (it’s uncool to be part of the white, cis “oppressors”). Teens are rebellious and don’t want to be boring, vanilla cis like their parents. One high school teacher said his students change pronouns, and gender, on a weekly basis!

    It used to be that the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care (SOC) required seeing a therapist to be sure gender dysphoria (called “gender identity disorder” back then) was the proper diagnosis before referring one to a doctor for HRT. That helped weed out those who weren’t really transgender. There were very few detransitioners back then. I only knew of one. However, trans activists thought this was too much “gatekeeping” and pressured the medical establishment to abandon any psychotherapy. Now, due to the "affirming model," someone can walk into a gender clinic (i.e. Planned Parenthood) and with as little as one session with a nurse, or a 30 min. phone call, walk out with a prescription for puberty blockers or hormones. Surgery isn't much harder. Perhaps one or two sessions with a therapist. Even when a gender clinic says they take a “multidisciplinary” approach usually one can get a prescription on the first appointment.

    As a result, people who aren’t really trans are being funneled down the same path as truly trans people usually with disastrous consequences.

    Many trans people have an “Either you’re with us or against us” attitude (one indication of a cult) that stifles reasoned discussion and debate. Speakers on college campuses, and in public venues, who disagree with the trans agenda are assaulted, spat on, trapped, shouted down, etc. Trans activists love censorship.

    Highly recommended.
    10 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Bianca
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!
    Reviewed in Australia on February 27, 2025
    An important read for every parent these days!
  • dario marcato
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, all those against it are just frightened that their bubble might collapse.
    Reviewed in Italy on February 11, 2025
    Rational and clear, unbothered by the "emotions" or the presumpted experience that people that "knows they were trans since kindergarten". Whoever disagrees with this book or consider this "transphobic", is simply against it because it has been put in front of its own wrong choices, not able to accept the pletora of bad choices and wrong ideologies that they chose.
  • Kiwis
    5.0 out of 5 stars おかしな世界にしてはいけない!
    Reviewed in Japan on May 19, 2025
    期待通りの内容の本
    Report
  • BellaCoimbra
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very important book
    Reviewed in Brazil on November 6, 2022
    This is a very important book. It was well-researched, sensitive to the situation, and included the many sides of the issue. The most impactful parts were the stories told by parents about the havoc caused in their lives when all of a sudden a daughter declared herself as of the opposite sex. Something similar happened in my niece's husband's family (their niece). I suggested the book to them and the girl's mother. It helped them understand what is going on and be able to deal with it better. It is a must read for anyone who has children.
  • Bambi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente lectura, interesante e informativa.
    Reviewed in Mexico on March 10, 2022
    Me sorprendió mucho encontrar este libro en Amazon y lo compré sin pensarlo dos veces. Una lectura muy interesante e informativa. Puede que en 2022 la gente aun crea que esto es "transfobia" y "discurso de odio"...yo creo que lo de verdad es transfobia y odio es tratar de silenciar todas las historias que se cuentan en este libro y silenciar las voces de las personas que tienen preocupaciones verdaderas y válidas sobre el movimiento transexual en la actualidad. Más lecturas como estas.

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?