Sophie's choice: One MTF's journey
by Tony Hobday on Nov 9, 2011
http://www.qsaltlake.com/2011/11/09/sophie%E2%80%99s-choice-one-mtf%E2%80%99s-journey/Born a male, or more appropriately, born in a male body, Sophia "Sophie" Jean Featherwind felt disconnected physiologically at a young age. Named Robert, after her father, Sophie says in her memoir, Freeing Hummingbirds: How I Learned to Embrace Myself, that one of the most difficult things a transgender individual struggles with is his or her name. "The names we are born with correspond to our birth gender and cannot be used in today's rigid society. ..." The self-published book traces Sophie's transitioning from 2007 to 2010; she incorporates childhood difficulties, a marriage to a woman and their two children in an enlightening and poetic memoir.
Sophie says she began writing as a therapeutic tool during transitioning. "I was trying to recollect anything that would help me understand my emotions. It all started with an assignment from my counselor to explore what I needed. And since blogging was available on the chat site I was using, I used the media to record my thoughts. I wrote about my plans to be lovable and respectable, and eventually I started writing about dreams and sharing my poems."
