Finding Self: A Transgender Person's Guide to Physical Transition (For Transmasculine and Nonbinary People) [Guide + Workbook]

by Sage Buch, Caitlyn Barhorst (Illustrator)

Finding Self: A Transgender Person's Guide to Physical Transition is currently the **ONLY** guide outlining every option available for physical transition for trans people Assigned Female at Birth (AFAB).This comprehensive guide walks you through all current options, and also gives you prompts to work through your feelings and emotions surrounding all aspects of physical transition. In Sage's words: "When I first realized I was trans, the journey of transition felt like a never-ending uphill battle to me. The amount of information was simultaneously overwhelming and nonexistent. I found pieces here and there that felt fitting for me, but so much of the information I found felt so exclusionary. At the time, I didn't have trans people around me to ask questions of, or to lean on. Because of that, I spent the last seven years doing deep-dive research into all aspects of physical transition through not just reading recorded scientific research, but also through my own personal experience, interviews and interactions with doctors, fellow trans people, parents/families, and attending large gender conferences such as the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference (Philadelphia, PA), and Genderevolution (Salt Lake City, UT). As I collected all of the information I could, I pooled all my notes together and created what is now this book. This book exists for you. So that whatever questions you have are answered, or are clarified enough for you to do more research. So that your journey may be a touch easier. So that no matter where you are in the world, no matter what kind of support you have around you, you can hear the voice of another trans person calling out to you, uplifting you."

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Transgender

Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2020

Reviews

[Winterdragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

At last! A guidebook like this has been sorely missed in the trans community. It deals with basically everything, including binding, vocal therapy, HRT, packing, top- and bottom surgery. There are flowcharts!! It's written from a non-binary perspective (hooray!), but is very inclusive in wording and makes no assumptions, so I'd wager it would be useful for all FTX individuals. It mixes a listing of options with personal experience, as well as references to resources for further study and community. My only caveat is that it's written from a US perspective as far as medical and legal procedures go, and thus non-US readers ought to be aware that the options might differ a lot (for better or worse) in their home countries. Neverhteless, I found this exceptionally useful, and I wish that doctors or therapists or LGTB orginasiations or whatever would just stick this book in your hand as soon as they hear you're considering the possibility of physical transition.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful for any AFAB person who is questioning their gender identity and/or embodiment. Very comprehensive review of medical literature surrounding transition-related topics, with helpful explanations of what those developments mean in practical terms for a person considering transition. Highly recommended.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly valuable resource for AFAB individuals who want to know their options for physically transitioning no matter their identities. This book is filled to the brim with detailed and well-researched information about everything from binding to bottom surgery and is a must-read for any AFAB folks looking to get affirming surgery. I highly recommend it.

[S. Kieran · Rating 5 out of 5]

You could spend untold hours scouring the internet, or you could just buy this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Whether you are wanting to try on a more masculine presentation (e.g. with binding and/or packing), or if you're ready to fully transition as a binary trans man but don't know where to start, this book is a great resource. Maybe you want top surgery, but you're not sure if hormone replacement therapy is right for you. Maybe you want to try hormone replacement therapy, but you want to go slowly and possibly stop right away. Or maybe you're like me: a demi guy who doesn't find hormone replacement therapy right for them, but wants a deeper voice--there are vocal exercises to help deepen one's voice. Each chapter is both personal with the author's expirience, and well researched. The chapters are also very helpful and practical--for instance, how much time should you take off of work if you are getting top surgery? It's in there (and, from personal expirience, it's accurate).