Again, Harder

by Alice Stoehr

Cult author Alice Stoehr’s debut short fiction collection about the messy, intersecting lives of a community of Midwestern trans women.

Again, Harder gathers the uncompromising short fiction of Alice Stoehr, which investigates the inner lives, evolving relationships, and often violent marginalization of a community of trans women in a large Midwestern town.

In these stories, a commune of trans separatists seduces a suicidal writer. An obsessive TERF and the trans woman she’s fixated on circle one another with building intensity. Polyamorous triads bloom and wilt, hookup app messages fly, friends sit for post-surgical care, and women fall to the toxic allure of Dorothy Lipko, the worst ex-girlfriend you have ever known.

Among this, there is regret, there is poverty, there is depression and sexual anxiety and despair; there is also fleeting, shared joy. Again, Harder is the sardonic heartbeat of a new generation of American trans women.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Queer, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2026

Reviews

[sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was such..... an interesting and wild read. i loved the interconnected stories that make up one larger story and the bold, "shoved in your face" writing style that the author has! every time i finished one story and would turn to the next i had no idea what was in store for me and that made it impossible to put this book down! reading about the messy and at times alarming personal lives of multiple trans women proved to be a reminder that you don't know what the HELL is going on behind the scenes in people's lives (i mean. the hookup messages. the poly triad. DOROTHY LIPKO. things get wild.) i loved every bit of this and wish we got a little bit more in terms of knowing how these stories connect with each other but overall i cannot WAIT to see everyone's thoughts on this one!

huge thank you to feminist press for sending me an ARC!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know it feels when you get the run down of drama and gossip about a group of people you don't know? And then after the fact it feels like you know them and you're invested in their world and gossip like it's a reality tv show except it's just people living their life and you were being told about them? That's the feeling this book gave me. I got all the deets. I got all the gossip. And I loved it.

[charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong debut collection from Alice Stoehr! Dynamic and heartbreaking characters with crisp writing and pacing. Also really enjoyed tracking characters throughout the book. There were a few stories I wouldn't have missed and a few where I don't think the form factor worked especially well, but I will for sure be picking up whatever she writes next. A few of my favorites: "Real Life Tests," "A Place Where People Raise Their Kids," and "The Bædlings."

[M. K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messy, fun, heartfelt, hard-to-put-down short stories full of unrealized want. The stories uplift villainous trans people, shitty decisions, and a desperate desire to survive a world with so few options. I found myself turning back to prior stories to figure out how all these women hurt and fucked and loved and survived each other ~ the connections surprised and delighted me. Highly recommend!

[John]

Review TK in the form of a blurb ^_-

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect book to kick off transbian summer

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet realism reminiscent of "Nevada", while building up a world distinctly its own. Excellent.

[Julia Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Again, Harder” by Alice Stoehr is a short story collection, primarily chronicling the lives of trans women in the midwest. The stories wind and intersect, it was always fun to catch a name and frantically flip through my pages read, asking myself, “where did we meet this character previously? have we met this character?” Heed my warning though, there are A LOT of characters, many of which appear multiple times. I tried to keep notes to remember who was who, but still got lost occasionally.

This book falls victim to the short story collection “curse”. Some of the stories are fantastic while others were a slog to push through. There were some that truly shone, but I felt they were spread out quite a bit.

As a non-cis person, it was refreshing to hear stories that I felt more connected to or felt I see around me in my everyday life: dating-app conversations soured by unwelcome fetishism, the exclusivity and isolation of polyamorous groups, hell even a group turning weirdly culty. It was a fun, punch in the face. I just felt it lacked consistency.

Thank you Feminist Press for the free ARC!