Transition
Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be
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4.1 • 167 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Chaz Bono's groundbreaking and candid account of a forty-year struggle to match his gender identity with his physical body and his transformation from female to male
At first, America knew the only child of Sonny and Cher as Chastity, the cherubic little girl who appeared on her parents' TV show. In later years, she became famous for coming out on a national stage, working with two major organizations toward LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights and publishing two books. And just within the past eighteen months, Chaz Bono has entered the public consciousness as the most high-profile transgender person ever.
All through the hoopla surrounding his change, Chaz has insisted on maintaining his privacy. Now, in Transition, Chaz finally tells his story. Part One traces his decision to transition, beginning in his childhood-when he played on the boys' teams and wore boys' clothing whenever possible-and going through his painful, but ultimately joyful, coming out in his twenties, up to 2008, when, after the death of his father, drug addiction, and five years of sobriety, Chaz was finally ready to begin the process of changing his gender. In Part Two, he offers an unprecedented record in words and photographs of the actual transition, a real-time diary as he navigates uncharted waters. These chapters capture the day-to-day momentum of his life as his body changes.
Throughout the book, Chaz touches on themes of identity, gender, and sexuality; parents and children; and how harboring secrets shatters the soul. It is an amazing contribution to our understanding of a much- misunderstood community.
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Customer Reviews
Transition
Easy to read with a happy ending. Chaz shares his struggles and insights and writes this to help others who may still be struggling a parallel path. For those who don't know or fear the topic, he provides it as a welcome mat to learn more about it and see that it is not something to be scared of. It is just a piece of life, that is less well known and coming to light like a volcano rising from the ocean floor. It will increase you ability to empathize, and widens the breadth of your compassion for life, from all walks. He also brings to light, that the diagnostic statistical manual of mental health disorders labels it as gender identity disorder, which has a pathology associated with it. Everything in the DSM has a stigma attached, it is a book of disorders. Maybe one day, science will not classify this as a disorder, for in doing so now, we deny the truth that is his and others. But we must not forget, that science speaks truths, but it by no means knows all yet. Shame on you science, for you misspoke yet again.
Awesome!
Terrific book! Chaz has an eloquent prose. While reading, I feel like I am just shooting the breeze with him somewhere and he is telling me about his life experiences. I was drawn to him when he was on Celebrity Fit Club. All I could see was a good soul and someone that I wish I had the pleasure of knowing.
I adore you, Chaz. Please keep writing!
I have 9 cats and they all give you a 4 paws up rating...+ my 2 human thumbs = 38 digits up for your awesome book!
You are a neat person and you deserve every wonderful thing that the Universe has planned for you.
Great book
As far as having a highly publicized transition I think this book helps to take a lot of the rumors out of the situation!!