Josephine Emery

Wow! What a book. A dear colleague lent this to me. It had been sitting on his desk for months and I had been itching to read it. But life got in the way. Last week he chose to lend it to me....it was not a good week for reading this book...I was already overdue on an assignment...I was going through a reasonably stressful time at work....packing up an office after being there for probably far too many years. Despite this, I couldn't put it down. I knew the author of this book before she became a she, if that makes sense. But I only knew her very slightly. Enough to nod to in a corridor. I was from interstate. She was at the time a demi-God. She was a he then. I was wary of him. He seemed surly..impatient with fools. And Lord knows I can be a fool. This book is confronting. This book is brave. This book is astounding. No doubt it will appeal to the prurient taste of some readers. But, to me, its real value lies in reminding us that often the biggest battle we face is with ourselves. And without wishing to sound like a dreadful cliche, never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes I can pick that when a person is lashing out or scary, its because they are hurting or incredibly afraid of something ....often themselves. Josie has been courageously honest in this book. It is such a generous gesture from a trail blazer. No doubt we will look back on this book and her experience in 50 years time and wonder what all the fuss was about. We need people like her to tell it like it is. That we live in a too binary world...yes/no...girl/boy...black/white....good/bad. None of us fits into neat little boxes. On reflection it is bizarre and typical of the cosmic consciousness that I should have read Weinberger's Everything is Miscellaneous in the same week. Yes John, you were right to lend it to me....to quote a particularly poignant passage from the book "What I have learnt is that we don't change until we come to a point where staying as we are hurts more than the prospect of change." Josie, this is a triumphant start to your new life and a clarion call for all of us to be true to ourselves and gentle with each other in the process.… (más)