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Today it’s the turn of Friday Review Share to support Indie authors.  Please leave a link in the comments to a review you’ve had on Amazon or Goodreads for one of your own books.  A link to the review and a description of the book would be great (or the review itself if you like), because let’s face it, if people are interested in the book they will certainly check it out!

If you haven’t yet had any reviews for your books, then you can leave a review you’ve written for an Indie book that you’ve read and enjoyed. 

I’ll start the ball rolling by sharing Robbie Cheadle’s review of ‘His Ladyship‘ (5 stars):

Robbie’s Review:

This book tackles the difficult topic of a person whose soul is trapped in the body of the wrong gender. There is a lot of controversy about which internal conflicts are gender related and which are sexuality related and I don’t feel qualified to comment on them as my upbringing was so conservative and ridged I only know a little about these topics. I can, however, comment on how this author’s characterization of Norman Wilkes, a man of 57 who has always identified as female, made me feel.

I felt terrible for Norman. He was born at a time when everything was black and white when it came to gender and his parents and siblings were conservative. There was no-one for him to talk to about his inner turmoil and confusion and so he withdrew from society, spending his life locked up his room.

Norman lives on unemployment from the government and only tries to get a job once. Because of his outwardly masculine appearance, he is sent to try out a job in a warehouse for which he is entirely unsuited. It ends in humiliation and catastrophe for Norman and is incredibly sad.

At the age of 57, when his mother is 93, Norman realises that time is running out for him and he needs to do something immediately if he wants to salvage what’s left of his life. He decides to out himself as a transgender man.

His mother and siblings reaction to his news is heartbreaking as they are initially unable to be kind or find any pleasant or supportive way of interacting with their brother. They actually are obstructive and make his life harder. Norman is determined though and goes ahead with his plans anyway which showed real strength of spirit and also desperation.

Norman is certainly not depicted as being a perfect person. In fact, he is selfish and self centred. His demanding behaviour towards his elderly mother is disgusting, but, as you progress with this novel and learn more about Norman, you start feeling more sorry for him than annoyed or judgmental. You discover the narrow-mindedness of his family and understand why he feels so trapped and unloved. No-one has ever tried to discover why Norman behaves the way he does, even his mother, despite her defense of his perceived “lazy” behaviour.

The changes to Norman’s personality and behaviour become more notable as the story unravels and you get a good insight into how much happier and kinder Norman could have been if there had been a little more understanding of his difficulties earlier in his life. It is impossible not to cheer Normal on as he starts down his new lifepath.

This book have a positive ending and is well researched and interesting.