Becoming Julie

Julie Clarke was born a boy in the 50s in central Scotland. From a very early age she knew she was different from other boys, but growing up in the 50s and 60s was not conducive to discussing feelings of gender difference and for many years Julie didn't even know there was a medical term for her dilemma: she was transsexual. Becoming Julie details how Julie Clarke spent many years battling her demons. As a man she married and became a firefighter and later, a charter boat skipper on the Isle of Coll, hoping that these acts would suppress her longing to become female, but to no avail. She encountered much prejudice in her journey to become the woman she is today, but also many acts of kindness, and the book tells Julie's story in her own words. Finally, in 2006, Julie achieved her dream and after undergoing transgender surgery, she physically became a woman. She is still living happily on the Isle of Coll and working for Cal-Mac in the role she previously held as a man. Sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, but always honest, Becoming Julie charts the author's struggle to build a new life as a woman. "This is a remarkable account of a personal struggle which is written with great dignity." Alexander McCall Smith