In Jag har ångrat mig, Vanessa López offers a raw, unfiltered, and deeply courageous account of her life as a transgender woman in Sweden, a country often perceived as a beacon of progressive values but where, until not long ago, legal gender recognition came at the cruel cost of forced sterilization and invasive surgeries. This powerful memoir, López’s literary debut, is not just a personal testimony. It is a call for awareness, compassion, and justice.
Born in Chile in 1983 and raised in Malmö, Vanessa López began her gender transition at just 17 years old. At the time, Swedish law required full gender-confirmation surgery, including sterilization, for legal gender change. This policy pushed Vanessa into a decision that would alter the course of her life forever. The title, Jag har ångrat mig, which translates as I Changed My Mind, is intentionally provocative. It dares readers to confront assumptions about regret, identity, and bodily autonomy. But rather than being a simplistic expression of regret, it is a nuanced exploration of the high price that can accompany the pursuit of authenticity under oppressive systems.
