Trading Places

This memoir recounts one mother's struggle to come to terms with her grown up transsexual daughter. When she learned that her adult son planned to become a daughter, she felt like her child was heading for disaster and she desperately tried to stop the transition. As time progressed, her efforts to stop it led her to learn more and more about transsexualism instead. She also became increasingly aware that her child was happier and more confident as a woman, had more friends than ever before, and in some inexplicable way, actually seemed more "normal." However, Baker'sown transition was not so easy. She describes a poetic transfer of dissonance: "I watched my son disappear; it felt like he had died and an entirely different person emerged to replace him. As my child became whole, I became more dissonant. It was as though we were trading places."The main thread of the book is the author's personal story of the journey. In a three year period, she transitions from having two grown sons to having one son and one daughter. The book is filled with soul-baring emotion from deep anguish to pure joy, mixed in with family history, noteworthy reactions to the news, academic information, and social and political commentary. Learning the truth about transsexualism andlearning about obstacles and issues that trans people face in our society were an important part of her process. Education was a powerful tool thatultimately shaped the course of her journey. With each successive chapter, she hopes to bring readers right through this transition alongside her.In addition to its emotionally rich and detailed narrative, this book also features chapters providing: - Descriptions of key terms related to trans issues accessible for a lay audience. - Answers to questions sometimes asked by people new to trans issues. - Cognitive strategies the author found useful for improving her ability to cope. - An afterword written by the author's daughter describing her own impression of the value of the book. - Appendices providing lay descriptions of scientific information including causal theories and prevalence.…