"In 1975, at the age of forty, Richard Raskind, a renowned eye surgeon and highly ranked amateur tennis player, "died," and Renee Richards was "born," in what was to become the most public and highly scrutinized sex reassignment to date. It was not until Renee Richards was discovered playing in an amateur tennis tournament that the world took notice. Extensive media coverage and criticism thrust Renee reluctantly into the spotlight, sparking an intense public debate over her private life.
Now, at seventy-two, Richards looks back and speaks frankly about all aspects of her complicated and often notorious life in this eye-opening, thought-provoking memoir. Richards' honest and compelling narrative explores the dichotomy between the successful life she lived as Dr. Richard Raskind, who seemed to have everything (devoted friends, a beautiful wife and son, a stellar record of academic and professional achievement, and outstanding athletic ability), and a secret life of struggle with a drive that could not be suppressed, even by years of psychotherapy and the force of a considerable will."