"I am a transgender. I have lived a life of 72 years as a woman in the body of a man. Norma's Voice is the story of that life. This memoir begins before I existed. It covers both the profound agony and the wild comedy of living in a perpetual state of gender fluidity.
The memoir specifically dwells on my early childhood, my marriage of 24 years to a wonderful woman, her death, the "death" of my male identity, and the final birth of my womanhood. The memoir spends some time ruminating on existential matters, in a manner that illuminates the curious way a transgender person relates to self; to family; to men, women and all humanity; to God; and to the cosmos. A theme runs throughout: The intense need for Norma to scream, and her inability to do so, because she had no voice. Hence the title. The memoir ends with Norma finding her voice at last, and in so doing, finds that she no longer is driven to scream."
I found an interesting interview with Norma Posy, conducted by Kristy Lin Billuni, where Norma elaborates on the origin of the book: "I sat down and wrote a 14-page poem. In complete ignorance about publishing, I sprinkled my poem around to various magazines and book publishers. I got some very encouraging letters back. The New Yorker pointed out the obvious: 14 pages is way too long for a magazine and way too short for a book. Then, a lesbian press from North Carolina laid a challenge on me. "Expand to at least 20,000 words, and we'll talk."
The result was Norma's Voice. The manuscript took first prize at the 2006 San Diego Book Awards. Wearing a red "power suit," I stood on their stage and bawled my eyes out like Miss America."
Available via Amazon
and sexygrammar.com
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