I Write the System: To Fight the System So I Might Right the System

by Jymi Cliche

I Write the System is an intersex story that explores how society forces us into separate, binary genders. Intersex people and others who don’t fit the mold designed by society often fall through the cracks and suffer great trauma, which for Jymi Cliche, led to a life of being dependent on the very system that abused him from day one, when he was operated on at birth and conditioned to believe he was female.

Using dark humor and inspirational stories to balance the trauma and struggles, Jymi offers ideas for change and a message of hope. His story encourages the idea that in time, things can get better, even if it feels impossible.

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2021

About the author

Jymi Cliche is a prolific author, visual artist, and spoken word poet from Massachusetts. He has an eclectic taste in books, art, music, and movies. His interests include psychology, human rights, punk, hip-hop, art history, critically acclaimed films, Boston, and spirituality. His books convey his passions. He's lived an unusual life in the mental health system, since childhood, but has learned to cope with his symptoms and has inspired people along the way, especially LGBTQIA folks with mental illness. Jymi spills raw energy into everything he creates and helps people to accept themselves as they are.

Reviews

[Coriander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has had me laughing and crying. I was taken back to the 80s and 90s of my own childhood through Jymi's stories. As someone who has questioned their own sexuality and gender, I found it healing to learn that I really wasn't alone in the universe. I recommend it for anyone, and especially for someone who doesn't know what it's like to question their personhood.

[Sacha Fortuné · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sacha's Book Reviews Blog

This was my forty-second book I chose via the Reedsy Discovery program, for which I am the single approved reviewer for this new book. This review also appears on Reedsy.

If you're interested in becoming a Reedsy reviewer (and have the chance to get paid "tips" to review books!) check it out here.

The Premise
Operated on at birth and raised and conditioned to believe he was female, Jymi experienced many struggles while being dependent on the system that abused him. He recounts his childhood experiences, and inspirational stories to balance the trauma and struggles.

The Pros & Cons
This was a moving, heartbreaking, and triumphant memoir of an intersex journey to adulthood.

The author always felt like he did not belong in his own skin:

I wasn’t a regular girl. I knew that.

From early childhood, he experienced severe bullying and emotional neglect, which made him feel suicidal:

They made fun of me every chance they had. I was a punching bag for their insults. […] I was picked on left and right. Kids blew spitballs at me all day every day, and harassed me with sexual gestures and notes with threats. […] I’d come home from school crying every single day, but my mom was always on the phone with her friends and I was an annoyance and a stress to her. […] Between the combination of everything changing so much, going through a puberty that was making me into something I didn’t wanna be and wasn’t ready for, and then being emotionally tortured every day by my teacher and all my peers, I lost hope. I broke. I stopped being a child.

Even when other adults recognised his need for help and guided him towards therapy, he felt pressured by his family to “make them look good” or else he would be punished. He struggled with dyslexia, speech therapy, and trauma; and engaged in self-harm such as cutting. Fortunately, he found the outlet of writing, and this was his saving grace throughout many years of struggles that would follow.

The recount of depression and problems with substance abuse is balanced with dark flashes of humour: getting an A for a “report” he did on a book he entirely made up, prank-calling a woman pretending to be her husband’s lover, and more. Every nugget brings a rush of nostalgia for decades past, and it was an entertaining read despite the heavy subject matter. There are shocking moments as he explores his sexuality, interacts with others at a psychiatric hospital, has emotional discussions with his parents, finds out about being intersex, and experiences various types of abuse; and touching moments as he suffers the loss of loved ones and finds friendship and kinship in the company of others.

The style of writing is engaging as it feels like you’re chatting with a friend, though there are moments that seem to be a bit scattered and distracted with abrupt bits (much like such a conversation with a friend). Also, as the memoir covers such a long period of the author’s life, it was at times challenging to keep track of everything in terms of the people, places, and the chronological timeline of events; still, it is definitely worth the effort to follow along to learn about his whole truth.

Conclusion
Overall, this was a moving memoir that will touch many readers, and one that will stay with you for awhile! Trigger warning: there are some serious issues here that will be painful to read, so it is not for the faint of heart. The relationships are intense and at times soul-crushing, but throughout it all there is a rising tide of triumph — of survival, of faith, of the eternal battle for self-love. This was a great read and I would highly recommend to others, particularly among the LGBTQIA+ community. I thank the author for the time and effort to compile these painful memories into something that can connect with others and make a significant impact on their lives.

___________
This review also appears on my blog. Visit to read more of my reviews: Sacha's Book Reviews Blog

Also be sure to check out Sacha's Must Read Recommendations

Liked my review? Your support helps me to keep my Reviews website running to support other indie authors with thoughtful, free reviews. Any tiny amount is appreciated. You can donate via: Buy Me A Coffee

[Emily Fugate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the detailed memoir of Jymi Cliche’s childhood being raised female in a middle class, predominantly white town in suburban Massachusetts. Jymi was born intersex, but his parents operated on him at birth to conform to the gender they chose for him (female). He did not learn about his intersex condition until 2001, at the age of 23. He is now a successful artist, rapper, and openly-queer, non-binary, trans man.

Jymi went through a horrifying amount of trauma in his young life from constant bullying, parents that didn’t understand, substance abuse, and physical and sexual abuse. Jymi “writes the system to fight the system so he may right the system.” I imagine he holds some personal grudges, but this does not come across in the book. The book is written so that folks within and outside of “the system” can hear what he went through and try to change it. Although the subject matter is dark and difficult to read, the overall tone is positive and meant to inspire people and connect with them.

I think most people can connect with a portion of Jymi’s story. I am so thankful for Jymi and authors like him that are willing to be so open and honest about their stories and their struggles. It makes people like me feel less alone.

I read Jymi’s first book, The Godchild Pt. 1 in 2020. That book was similar but focused more specifically on a string of strange events that have happened during his time through “the system.” I found this book to be much easier to follow. But I look forward to reading the Godchild series again, as Jymi is planning on re-releasing it after some edits.

[Zan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The was a really easy read with good flow. It’s a coming of age book, and whether or not you are like the author and questioning your sexuality and gender, if you grew up in the 80’s you can definitely relate to adolescence during that time period. It’s thought provoking and enlivens all moods from laughter, to sadness, to understanding, contentment, and personal peace. I found I could not put the book down, wanting to read it through from start to finish at once.

[Tobey Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jymi is an amazing writer.
I Write The System is an eye into his life and the struggles and triumphs he has had over the years.
It touches on so many topics including the mental health system, and its massive failures, and being intersex in a world that expects everyone is just binary, doctors included.

I Write The System is a book everyone needs to read at least once.