From Both Sides Now

One Woman's Journey to Love and Living Life to Its Fullest

By: Alexus Sheppard

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO DISCOVER WHO YOU REALLY ARE What do you do when you realize at middle age that your entire life has been a lie? What do you do when you have everything you thought you ever wanted—a beautiful wife, two wonderful children, a fairy-tale house, a successful business, even a luxury automobile—and yet, there is a deep internal void. Where do you go from there? Allen struggled deeply with these questions, but what he didn’t realize was that the answers were already inside him. The answers dwelled in his feminine self that had been repressed since childhood, waiting to be expressed through the woman he would become. She was not to be denied. She was destined to be released. She was the answer to all his questions and the answer to all his dreams. She was his truth. She was Alexus Sheppard. And this is her story.

A great story about a later transition

The author gave a very personable account of her transition using material that was written at different times in her life. This added an extra element to further highlight her transformation as she developed as a person. The pacing was good and the read was enjoyable.

I think that this book will hold the most appeal for those who either know or are someone who is transitioning later in life and had achieved some measure of success in their former life. I don't think that the younger reader will have as much to relate to, but the story will still be interesting. There are definitely nuggets of wisdom that anyone can gain no matter their age or gender status.

Now time for the gut punch. I'm afraid that the computer narration took away from the story. Just when I thought I could get over the narration, I would hear a blatant mispronounciation. It is a shame that this story wasn't narrated by a person who would have changed their voice to suit the time in transition. This account also referred to images that aren't available in the audiobook. luckily it was only early in the story, but that was also a distraction in the beginning.

Overall, I highly enjoyed the story and would recommend this book.