Trans-Formations: From Field Boots to Sensible Heels

by Erika Shepard

On a blazing summer day in Missouri, 1956, eight-year-old Richard discovers a sparkling rock on the railroad tracks near his home - and is fascinated. In that same year, he makes another unexpected discovery - an aching, forbidden desire to be a girl. These are pivotal moments in his life. Through a tour in Vietnam, a 40-year marriage and a career in exploration geology, he keeps his longing completely secret. But inevitably, at the edge of a cliff in southern Idaho, he faces a decision - to die as a man or live as a woman. Trans-Formations is more than a memoir of transgenderism. It reflects important crossroads we all encounter in our lives - times of self-doubt and failure, other moments of great success and joy. It is a journey we all share, one that leads to a profound question that we, at some point in our lives, ask Who Am I?Excerpts from the Kirkus In this debut transgender memoir, a retired geologist muses about the powerful forces that shape people and rocks.The author writes with precision and feeling about both her personal trials and her geological passions. Her prose paints an emotional landscape fraught with excitement and anxiety [introducing…] readers to a secret world that feels simultaneously familiar and alien, idiosyncratic and Middle American. While the work’s autobiographical arc is predictable in broad terms, the narrative’s turns are often surprising, and readers will be happy to follow wherever the author leads.An inspiring account of self-discovery and self-realization.

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2020

Reviews

[Tammy DeRossett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

From the title to the last sentence, this book is inspiring! This is a book about Erika, but it's also about the countless other little boys longing to live in the body they know they were meant to be in.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

She was a boy on the outside and a girl on the inside. This was not acceptable. She had to pretend and keep pretending.

In this memoir, Erika Shepard shares her journey as she struggles to integrate herself and let that girl out without destroying her life or being rejected by her family, colleagues, wife, and society. This is no small task. Every part of her life is at risk. One other aspect that must be mentioned, is that Ms. Shepard is a retired geologist. Much of her life is shown to us via the lessons of her explorations.

Ms. Shepard makes her transition step by step, some people remaining by her side and others, not. She and her wife, still in love, grapple with the ramifications, sincerely looking to see how they can maintain their relationship.

This is an unforgettable book. For someone who had to live a lie for a very long time, the author is incredibly honest. She states that she does not consider herself pretty, but if you look at her pictures, beauty is what you will see.

I thank her for sharing her story. It was an honor to read it.