In this unforgettable meet-cute, Samantha Allen traces her story of self-discovery during gender transition and the life-altering partnership that began with a simple hello in an elevator.
Feeling "unfinished" at the liminal age of twenty-six, the author had already accumulated decades of emotional baggage growing up in a Mormon family and living with gender dysphoria. When she met Corey midtransition, she felt even more like an awkward shape-shifter. Now Samantha shares how taking a chance on that fortuitous encounter meant having the courage to be herself.
Love & Estrogen is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love, with art by Geoff McFetridge. Each story can be read-or listened to-in a single sitting.
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[Love and estrogen are both drugs. I recommend taking them together] ***(Amazon Original Stories, 28 May 2018, ebook, 34 pages, kindle in motion, Prime Reading)
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Love & Estrogen made me cry a lot of hug my Kindle and cry some more. I'm cisgender (I identify as the gender I was born as). So is my wife. I've never really gotten the transgender thing. In the same way, I've never gotten why a woman would be attracted to a man. It's never part of my experience. This essay humbled me a little. To quote Moulin Rouge (apologies) the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. Truer words have never been spoken. I was moved by Samantha's experiences, her struggles, how falling in love with Corey sent her life spinning out of orbit. I can relate to how it feels. I couldn't relate to her struggles as a transgender person. I could relate to coming out, being confused about your identity and falling deeply in love with someone.
