By turns harrowing and hopeful, MAKE IT COUNT is the inspiring story of the first openly transgender woman to win a NCAA title, following her...

By turns harrowing and hopeful, MAKE IT COUNT is the inspiring story of the first openly transgender woman to win a NCAA title, following her traditional upbringing in Jamaica, her fight to become a US citizen, and her efforts to achieve her Olympic dreams.

CeCé Telfer is a warrior. The first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA championship, she has contended with transphobia on and off the track since childhood. Now, she stands at the crossroads of a national and international conversation about equity in sports, forced to advocate for her personhood and rights at every turn. After spending years training for the 2024 Olympics, Telfer has been sidelined and silenced more times than she can count. But she's never been good at taking no for an answer.

MAKE IT COUNT is Telfer's raw and inspiring story. From coming of age in Jamaica, where she grew up hearing a constant barrage of slurs, to beginning her new life in Toronto and then New Hampshire, where she realized what running could offer her, to living in the backseat of her car while searching for a coach, to Mexico, where she trained for the US Trials, this book follows the arc of Telfer's Olympic dream.

This is the story of running on what feels like the edge of a knife, of what it means to compete when you're not just an athlete but treated like a walking controversy. But it's also the story of resilience and athleticism, of a runner who found a clarity in her sport that otherwise eluded her--a sense of being simply alive on this earth, a human moving through space. Finally, herself.


Author: Cec? Telfer
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 06/18/2024
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 9.29h x 6.38w x 1.13d
ISBN: 9781538756249


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 01/01/2024 pg. 11
Publishers Weekly 06/10/2024
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2024

About the Author
CeCé Telfer is a Jamaican-American athlete who, in June 2019, became the first openly transgender woman to win a NCAA title. Telfer became a NCAA National Champion in the 400- meter hurdles event which put her on the trajectory of becoming a U.S. Olympic hopeful for the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

In June 2021, Telfer qualified for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Track & Field in the 100M & 400-meter hurdles. Telfer has appeared on multiple national media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN International, ESPN, Women's Health, People Magazine, The Advocate, and more, capturing global attention for her incredible story.