TransActions [Paperback]

Erica Zander (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

TransActions is a lovely book ... a beautifully candid personal journal. -- TG Community News Oct 2003

From the Back Cover

Erica Zander is a Swedish lesbian-identified male-to-female transsexual. After thirty years as a "so she thought" transvestite, and fifteen as a former trans', she transitioned at the age of forty-eight. Erica still lives with her wife of thirty years; together they have two adult sons.

In this candid autobiography, trans activist statement and post-op diary, Ms. Zander discusses a wide range of topics related to gender and the individual's quest for wholeness. Her text has an immediacy that is only possible because it was written throughout her transition, not years later.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Periskop (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9189443012
• ISBN-13: 978-9189443013
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,090,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing Candor, August 4, 2003

By 

Willow "Silent Thunder" (Prince George, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TransActions (Paperback)

This is easily one of the best books - if not the best - on the life of transsexual women available today. Instead of the American or Canadian approach, what is presented is a wonderfully European, down to earth and insightful view of trnassexuality. Honest, open and candid, without the myths that one normally finds in those books that are strictly "politically correct".

As a transsexual woman, I find that far too often the mythology of transsexuality is overwhelming. No, I was not born a woman, but a male. I am now legally and hormonally female, but that does not erase that portion of my life that I lived as a male, nor can it ever do so. Further, I can and do take pride in what I am, without reservation.

This book will not be popular amongst the many transexual women who claim to be and to have always have been women for it acknowledges and pays homage to reality, not fiction. It presents practicality and common sense, far from the quasi-fictional accounts that most books dwell upon. Nor does it pander to matter of gender generally, for it acknowledges the deep divisions that do exist - like it or not. Quistesentially European, it is as refreshing as a cool sea breeze after a hot an muggy week.

After years of books that sensationalize or sanitize the world of transsexual women, we finally have a book that with clarity and insight looks at us as we truly are. It is an essential addition for any collection of gender studies. A small part is autobiographical; the majority of the book is an exploration of how transexuals fit into society.

I fear that many or the reviews by transexual women wil be negative for many of them are believers in the myths that surround our lives.

This is a book that gives rightful pride to transsexual women, should they but have the courage to embrace it...

Willow Arune

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A living documentary, September 14, 2003

By 

Ylva Maria Thompson - See all my reviews

This review is from: TransActions (Paperback)

Would you like to get under the skin of a transsexual woman ? This is how close Erica Zander takes you. All her thoughts, feelings, successes and failures are to be found in this book.
In a way, TransActions could have been two books; There's the autobiographical part, with notes from her diary before, during and after her sex reassignment surgery.
And there are chapters with facts, terminology, statistics, scientific finds and different views on what transsexualism really is. And what it isn't.
And then there are the philosophical texts, where Erica presents her ideas about male vs female, the effects of hormones on our bodies and minds, the symbolic value of clothes, jewelry et cetera.
Her book is also beautifully structured, and you easily find the most interesting parts or the information you are looking for. For this reason TransActions is excellent also for references.
But there is so much more.
Personally, I preferred the analyzing chapters, which gave me many new angles to think about or discuss with my friends. On the other hand these texts might well have felt impersonal without the background of the self exposing notes from her diary. The main reason why her book feels so real and alive, is that it was written here & now; Erica wrote it throughout her transition. It isn't a look in the rear-view mirror, no reconstruction. It's a living documentary.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truth,transition and reality!!!, February 6, 2004

By 

Alexandra Perrin "tperrin106" (pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TransActions (Paperback)

At first this book starts out as a hard read but when ya give it a chance you find that it grips you and pulls you in!!!I found so much truth and wisdom about being trans and transitioning and encouragement that i was uplifted by reading it!!!I did find though that even though erica didnt face alot of ridicule she does aknowledge that the discrimination does exist!!!And like one of the reviews wriiten about this book i did find i cut through alot of myth's which is soooo needed in the trans community !!!! I would recomend this book to anyone no matter what stage of transition they are in!!!Excellent,excellent!!!