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E. M. Mckenna
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4.0 out of 5 stars ‘Transfixed’ is a fascinating and informative story. A real page turner.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2020
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Lisa McIntyre was born as a boy on a Glasgow council estate, was a member of a gang and was involved in a lot of violence which led to borstal. From childhood, she always felt in the wrong body. The writer takes you through what it feels like from the inside, the discomfort and confusion and then the courageous and difficult journey of transitioning with two surgeries finally performed in Thailand.
‘Transfixed’ is a real education and everyone should read this before they form opinions about how we treat and legislate on gender issues.
It is also a Norwich story showing a city of tolerance and support. Lisa is strong, resourceful and lucky in equal measures but she doesn’t stint on both the logistical difficulties of transitioning as well as the physical procedures and their impact on both herself and others.
Lisa McIntyre has written a heartwarming story showing how human friendships and support for each other are what make us. It is sad in parts but is also very uplifting and funny. A fabulously brave and honest book.
Andrea Roberta Brown
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5.0 out of 5 stars It gets better
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2020
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This is a good, interesting and illuminating journey through the hard process of transition and the pitfalls that can come out of nowhere when transitioning, during the period of the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's.
This book gives a good over view of the problems and barriers encountered while a trans person tried to negotiate the transition process and associated health care in the United Kingdom.
Some of those problems are still there. The detachment by the clinicians and medical process from the reality of the actual patients, is still a problem today that should have been addressed decades ago. However it is also clear from this book, that the outcomes post surgery are very good.
In this book the barriers against transition may have been decades ago, but for quite a few trans people they are still there today, a problem that has never been addressed. Also this book shows how events that can conspire against a person during transition, are quit clear in this book.
Mark Harrison
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5.0 out of 5 stars Transfixed from start to finish!
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2020
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So many lives in one lifetime. Moving, funny, emotional, violent, tender & optimistic. Restores faith in human nature and destroys it in equal measure. Lisa’s journey uncovers a world few of us understand or know anything about but reveals human experience with all its contradictions. This account is an important record of lived experience of a trans working class woman in the late 20th/early 21st century. Should be compulsory reading for social workers and health professionals
Dreamer
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5.0 out of 5 stars A woman in her own right.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2020
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What an incredible account of one persons struggle to become who they really are. The true life story of a young man in the wrong body. From the gangs and violence in Glasgow and London, to finally being able to live as a transsexual woman. Well written, at times funny, at times emotional, an insight into the struggles to become a woman in her own right. So glad to have been part of Lisa's amazing journey.