The very first book I read about a trans woman was Conundrum by Jan Morris. I remember not feeling so alone and that others like me existed and seemed to thrive. I came across Jan Morris’s memoir on one of my frequent trips to a used bookstore as a teen. It was an exciting find, like discovering a long-buried tresor. But there was a flip side. I now knew I wasn’t the only one in existence who felt they were in the wrong body, and this turned my whole world upside down and inside out.

Before reading her book, I had convinced myself my mind wasn’t well; I mean, come on, how could someone with a body that seemed to be of one sex be of another gender? I was certainly mad. The se thoughts of being in a body foreign to how I was inside started as a young child, and I cannot remember a time when I didn’t have this terrible sense of being a passenger in a body not my own.

Eventually, I would come to the decision that I was either going to make things right and bring my body in better alignment with my identity or die; there could be no other solution for me. The journey to fulfilling my dream would be a long and painful one, but it wasn’t all dark and gloomy, far from it. Along with my gender issue was a passion for drawing and painting. Creating art kept me from sinking too quickly into despair, but I couldn’t replace or obfuscate who I was forever.

Long story short, just as I could no longer see any sort of future for myself and was ready to call it quits, along came the one who would lift me up and help me through the transition, and we’ve been together ever since. My heroine and my wife, Dany.

Ok, so all this is to say that I think my memoir Breaking Free: 45 Years in the Wrong Body could be helpful to anyone going through a difficult patch in their own life. I think we are each and every one worthy of happiness, and you don’t have to be LGBTQ+ to read my book. This memoir is about living, surviving and hope.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing fear of coming out or feeling alone with nowhere to turn, then my memoir is worth the read. It’s not a self-help book filled with recipes and quick fixes; in fact, it’s just me speaking from a place of openness, from my heart, about a life I kept secret from friends and family for decades. If you do order my memoir and wish to communicate with me, please feel free to leave me a comment at the bottom of this blog. I will gladly respond.

Just click on the link symbol below to order a copy of Breaking Free: 45 Years in the Wrong Body.

love,

Joelle Circé