Free Downloads She's Not There: A Life In Two Genders
The provocative bestseller She’s Not There is the winning, utterly surprising story of a person changing genders. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. Told in Boylan’s fresh voice, She’s Not There is about a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret. As James evolves into Jennifer in scenes that are by turns tender, startling, and witty, a marvelously human perspective emerges on issues of love, sex, and the fascinating relationship between our physical and intuitive selves. Now with a new epilogue from the author and an afterword from Deirdre "Grace" Boylan, She’s Not There shines a light on the often confounding process of accepting ourselves.
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books; 2 Reprint edition (April 30, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385346972
ISBN-13: 978-0385346979
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (255 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #30,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > LGBT > Transgender #17 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Nonfiction > Transgender #36 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Parenting > Parenting Boys
I went into reading this book with more then a bit of skepticism, having seen other examples of transgender people telling their story fall short of what I have known and experienced (yep, I am a transgender M to F myself). Anyway I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Ms. Boylan writes with a grace and a style that made the book easily readable and one for me that I wanted to read, rather then had to read.Some people might criticize the relatively light tone she takes with some of the darker issues she had to face (like a disapproving sister) but after reading so many doom and gloom tales that over emphasize that side, this was a breath of fresh air.As someone like Ms. Boylan who is going through transition as a family (with some differences in terms of family dynamics) I can say that the emotions she writes about, her and of those around her, if lightened up, are real. Her spouse deals with this differently then many spouses would, for sure, but the pain and the hurt expressed is true in my experience. Likewise, the uncertainty of people around a transitioning person is portrayed very well here, especially in the relationship with her friend Richard Russo. I am glad that Jenny made the point that not only is the person transitioning, so are the people around them.I also would like to comment on some of the other reviews, who imply that Jenny "glossed over" the pain of her family, or implied she was some sort of typical middle age man just "doing his own thing". I suspect if she glossed over the raw emotions it was to protect her family and their privacy, not about trivializing them. As far as this being some sort of middle age crisis and a 'choice', forget it.
Jennifer Finney Boylan spent her first 40 years as a woman in a man's body. She's Not There : A Life in Two Genders is Jennifer's story about growing up as James, knowing with "heartbroken conviction" that she was living in the wrong life, and hoping to be "cured by love."James Boylan met and married Grace and became a professor at Colby College in Maine. Together they raised two sons. Boylan's life included playing in various bands, writing and publishing successful books, and constant excruciating dissonance and concealment. At age forty-two, after years of therapy and exploring transgender issues, Boylan began the transition to a female body. This was achieved through hormone therapy and eventual gender reassignment surgery.We are led to understand that she didn't DECIDE to make this transition, but rather stopped resisting it. Boylan's writing is often wry and even funny, but she never tries to conceal the pain of her transgendered life and the redemptive integration of her reassignment. She moves back and forth in time, framing the story with an emotionally revealing opening and then varying the intensity throughout.The impact on Boylan's family and friends was "atomic." Boylan chose fictional names for the non-public people in this memoir, and her choice of the name Grace for her spouse cannot be by chance. After years of marriage, Grace mourned the loss of her husband while finding enough love and faith in her life partner to stay in the relationship. Unstinting in her own self-exposure, Boylan leaves a veil of privacy over the nature of her spouse's accommodation to this change.
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders She Believed She Could So She Did She Believed She Could So She Did - A Daily Gratitude Journal | Planner She Believed She Could So She Did - A Double Journal Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey between Genders (Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiog) The Elusive Orgasm: A Woman's Guide to Why She Can't and How She Can Orgasm Skin Deep: All She Wanted Was a Mummy, But Was She Too Ugly to Be Loved? Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders What's Up Down There?: Questions You'd Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend When I Am Playing with My Cat, How Do I Know That She Is Not Playing with Me?: Montaigne and Being in Touch with Life She's Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's 'Learned' She Sells Seashells by the Seashore: A Tongue Twister Story (Hello Reader! (DO NOT USE, please choose level and binding)) Suck Less: Where There's a Willam, There's a Way Where There's a Wheel, There's a Way There's No Such Thing as "Business" Ethics: There's Only One Rule for Making Decisions Two by Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night Two Plus Two Is Not Five (Easy Methods to Learn Addition & Subtraction) A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two Is Not One (SUNY Series in Religious Studies) "Do Not Worry, Do Not Be Anxious, Do Not Be Afraid": A Self-Help Manual for People Who Worry a Lot and Suffer Anxiety and Fear
