Lannie! My Journey from Man to Woman by Lannie Rose
SterlingHouse Publisher, Nonfiction, $18.95 (214 pages), ISBN 1-58501-109-6

My Journey from Man to Woman

There may not be many memoirs by transgender women written for a general audience, but this certainly has to be one of the best. Straightforward and honest, yet refreshingly funny and compassionate, Lannie! successfully gives the open-minded reader a sincere, heartfelt and shockingly frank look into a world that few experience and most know nothing about or can even imagine.

Author Lannie Rose began life as Eddy, a boy who always felt uncomfortable in a male body. Later in life, motivated by the desire to unleash his true self, he decided to take the challenging step of living as a woman 24/7 and ultimately undergoing sex reassignment surgery. This difficult but life-changing experience allowed Eddy to physically become Lannie, the woman he had always been, mentally and emotionally.

Ms. Rose’s book is probably not everyone’s cup of tea. It is full of graphic, clinical descriptions of the surgical procedures she endured, which, while powerful and, in their own way, mesmerizing, may put off certain readers. The most amazing aspect of this memoir may be the ongoing, courageous sense of humor that the author maintains throughout, as she “learned about clean underwear and many other remarkable things” on her unusual journey toward womanhood.

Reader Doug Brown, caught up in Ms. Rose’s “girl-to-girl” confessional style of expression, wrote, “Damn, girl, you sure can write!” Richard J. Novic, M.D., author of Alice in Genderland, had this to say about the book: “Soulful and sparkling! Lannie Rose shares her remarkable story with us like it’s a bottle of fine champagne. It tickles your throat and educates your palette while ultimately changing your view of the world and the people around you.”

The bottom line is, if you’re a fairly sophisticated reader not easily put off by candid descriptions, and you have any interest at all in the many and varied aspects of sexuality and self-expression out there in the real world, a leisurely read through Lannie! will open your eyes.

Click here to read an Lannie Rose's article "What Kind of a Man Gets Pregnant?"