Born in Belgium in 1954, the author was transplanted to New York City by her parents in the early 1960s. Ms Sante was a widely published author, and has written over a dozen books over several decades. As with many of us, her distinguished career was camouflage for her deep desire to become a woman. She suppressed that desire until 2021.
Ms Sante and I had very different experiences. I practiced crossdressing for over forty years before plotting my transition; Lucy may have thought and dreamed about it, but didn’t allow herself to practice her appearance and behavior until after she’d decided to transition at age 67.
Starting with that realization, she gives us a view of her life as she oscillates between sudden urges to transition today followed by insecurity and anxiety about her prospects for success. The sudden actualization of her fantasies created exciting and painful drama for her and her family. I have to say, though, that it wasn’t clear to me from the text whether she ever had any surgery, or whether she felt that hormone replacement was sufficient for her.
If you have been mesmerized by any of her books, or if you, too, had a multi-cultural childhood, you may find this to be a fascinating read. As I read it, I thought how unfortunate it was that someone living in New York City did not participate in any of the transgender social or opportunities in that city. Seriously, this was the city of the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Drag queens and transgender people of all varieties must have been all around her for most of her life.
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