Becoming Myself (ePub)

The courageous story of Sara-Jane and her triumphant journey to find her true self

A story of genuine victory despite the most incredible of odds

Born into a family of twelve children in Ballyfermot, Dublin, Thomas had a childhood full of bullying and humiliation. All the time Thomas was hiding a dark secret that was buried so deep, not even he understood it.

Desperate to fit in, he looked for answers in religion, work, even marriage. But through his struggle and despair he reached rock-bottom and eventually tried to take his own life.

With the help of good friends and much soul-searching, Thomas was able to have confirmed what he had somehow always known - that he had been born in the wrong body and that he was actually a woman. The medical diagnosis of gender identity disorder - a physical and neurological condition - has allowed Thomas to step out of the shadows and to face the world at last as Sara-Jane, the person he truly was all along.

Brave, humorous and powerful, Sara-Jane's story is one of momentous personal change set against the backdrop of a changing Ireland, an Ireland now ready to embrace the growing visibility of LGBT voices in politics and preparing for the Marriage Equality Referendum in May 2015.

In sharing her powerful story of gender identity disorder with honesty, compassion and humour, Sara-Jane Cromwell is a living example of triumph over overwhelming odds, and of a rare courage which will give hope to many, and inspiration to all.