Squirrel Cage [Paperback]

Cindi Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2006

Softcover Cindi Jones chronicles her life as she banters with her squirrel muse. While her autobiography is about transsexualism, the story of love and struggle is universal. Cindi's compelling style is powerful as she pulls the reader in to her life walking the forbidden path alone. Her writing is fresh, inviting and engrossing. Join her as she details her sorrows and joys as she forges gold from lead, changing her gender in reassignment surgery, and culminating her story by leading a productive life as a woman. This is a story of love betrayed, brutal loss, and sweet victory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (August 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847289428
• ISBN-13: 978-1847289421
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,461,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Human Experience from a transgendered perspective, September 11, 2006

By 

Karen (In transition) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Squirrel Cage (Paperback)

Most people are afraid of transsexuals, pre-transsexuals included. We all want to belong, to conform, to fit in. Change your gender? You would become a freak! Yet, resisting the NEED to change almost always causes those so afflicted great emotional pain. Pain from hiding their secret shame, and pretending every minute of every day to be something they don't feel.

Sounds pretty melodramatic, eh?

Enter David Steele, born into a traditional American household in Salt Lake City, Utah. At an early age, he is told NO he is not to behave that way, boys don't wear dresses and look pretty -- and so begins David/Cindi's odyssey, trying repeatedly to cure/quit/give up this sinful compulsion. He is aided by his inner muse, Squirrel, who helps him plan how to get away with obtaining and hiding girls' clothes so he doesn't get caught.

After high School and 'Mission' he marries his childhood sweetheart, secretly hoping this will cure him of the wish to be female. But the urges and Squirrel return, and he begins getting caught by his bride. The church finds out, and they submit him to various 'therapies' to cure him. Finally David is has no choice but to accept and embrace this need and transform into Cindi.

She tells her tale with candor and conviction. The events are all true, and the real people in Cindi's life will recognise themselves in these pages even though their names are changed. But this book isn't about one woman's transsexuality -- it is a book about life, as she overcomes many obstacles before during and after her transition. About half of these obstacles have nothing to do with her transsexuality, occuring before transition to David, or after to Cindi, who now 'passes' completely as female.

This book may answer for some what it's like to be a transsexual who transitions. But it is also about the human spirit.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The squirrel cage of Cindi Jones, September 23, 2006

By 

Robin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Squirrel Cage (Paperback)

Squirrel Cage is certainly one of the best written pieces I've read regarding the transsexual dilemma. Cindi Jones' choice of words is powerful and illustrate perfectly the unique struggles she experienced in her journey from male to female. As Cindi takes us through her unbelievable odyssey, she confirms once again that being transsexual is neither a lifestyle nor a choice, but a matter of life and death indeed.

Her struggles with gender incongruence and her determination to match her body to her soul teach us a powerful lesson of survival in a world where gender identity is often misunderstood and shadowed by bigotry.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story of great conflict and love, September 12, 2006

By 

M. Stone "Avid Reader" (Fremont, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Squirrel Cage (Paperback)

Some people believe that transsexualism is an extreme sexual fettish. After all, that's pretty much all we get to see about them on the tube. This book clearly dispells those beliefs.

Cindi has presented her story in a brutally honest fashion. She makes it clear that her case is not due to some sexual perversion but a deep seated and horrifying secret she felt from her earliest memories.

Cindi grew up in Utah and was a devoted member of the Mormon faith. Her conflict was always at odds with her conservative beliefs. And as she worked to resolve her "condition", she was faced with an onslaught of opposition from her church, family, and management where she worked.

She details how she was counseled to get married and be faithful to her beliefs by church authorities. Her counsel did not deal with her deep seated problems. They made them worse. She endured persecution from all that she loved. Feeling completely isolated, she proceded with her transition at great personal cost. After her transition, Cindi slipped back into society where she has lived a normal life as a woman for several years. Cindi has held true to her strong personal values and has won back the love and support of her family.

Cindi's writing style is sometimes whimsical, often blunt, and totally engrossing. Her discussions with her muse, Squirrel, work effectively in showing how she came to terms with her internal conflict. Her story is not so much about her sex change as is with that conflict she recognizes and resolves. I believe this book is a must read for anyone who needs help understanding and helping a loved one with any unusual personal problem.