Customer Reviews

Alice in Genderland: A Crossdresser Comes of Age

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I found Alice in Genderland to be absolutely riveting and immensely readable.

Alice's account of her journey from curious pre-pubescent boy to her `coming of age' is told with total clarity and openness.

Alice in Genderland is at times painful, sometimes amusing and sometimes highly erotic, but always rewarding.

Ultimately, the journey was fulfilling, certainly for this reader.

Alice's professionalism and intelligence shine throughout this book, which manages to interleave it's narrative with a historical perspective and an analytical viewpoint.

A word of warning however. If, like me, you are of the older generation of TG person, be prepared for a cathartic experience and read Alice in Genderland in a quiet room with subdued lighting and a good glass of wine. Preferably with a ready supply of dark chocolate. You may just end up in floods of tears. How I wish it had been around when I was a young student.

I commend Alice and Richard's wife, to whom Alice in Genderland is dedicated.

Once I started this book, I found myself drawn in, like when I read "Catcher In The Rye" as an adolescent, many years ago. I have not been struck on such personal level since then. I finished "Alice in Genderland," hungry for more and felt like calling the author up and asking, "Well, what happens next?" and "When are you going to write a sequel?"

Richard/Alice Novic has given a fellow crossdresser like me the comfort of knowing that I am not alone. There are others out there traveling the same journey, with all its unexpected twists and turns, even if I can't see them standing beside me. She and I have gone through more things in common than most people I might ever meet.

Her book made me laugh and cry, got me excited, and moved me on so many different levels. All I can say is, "Alice, thank you for writing such a wonderful book and for being so open and honest about your life. We need more courageous trans-women like you to pave the way for us and those to come."

It is very hard for anybody to face and hopefully at some point in life to accept one's special uniqueness. this book is the best one I have read. The most important aspect is about being true to yourself and to the significant people close to you. Nobody would choose such a difficult path in life (not generally accepted by most cultures); but on the other hand, is it easy to be "normal", is there such thing as being normal. May be we, who are different, are gifted by life so that we cannot escape finding about the special meaning of life for ourself and that is what I get from Alice's testimony. Thank you Alice for sharing so openly with everyone, open enough to learn. Johanne

"I was surprised when I discovered a few years ago that no one had ever written a contemporary crossdressing memoir. Although there had been many transsexual memoirs and drag queen diaries, no one had ever written the story of a crossdresser like me who had been able to fit a substantial female life in with his male life."

Thus begins Alice in Genderland, the story of one such individual who walks a path of exploration and experimentation that results in a life fulfilled on both sides of the gender fence. Written by Harvard-educated psychiatrist Richard J. Novic, M.D., Alice in Genderland begins with flashbacks to his childhood, an otherwise unremarkable boyhood punctuated by fantasies of being female and occasional forays into his sisters' closets. Like many of us, Novic spent much of his early adulthood in denial, making excuses to himself for his behavior. But gradually he begins his journey toward self-acceptance, through books, counseling, experimentation, and colorful encounters with other transgendered people.

Alice in Genderland is an intelligent, well-written book that takes readers inside the life of a bisexual crossdresser who has done it all and lived to tell. This story truly stirred my blood at times and is not for the faint of heart. Unlike so many transsexual stories, though, that mix both intense struggle and costly triumph, the tale of Dr. Novic and "Alice" is for the most part light-hearted and upbeat. Alice forges ahead from one gender adventure to the next, living a life that would no doubt be the envy of just about any crossdresser.

Transsexual persons might find Alice in Genderland unsatisfying, as Dr. Novic's journey has concluded well short of surgery and full-time life as Alice. However, for crossdressers, their families, those still trying to understand where they fit in the gender spectrum, or people who are merely interested in insight into the world of the transgendered, Alice in Genderland is an educational and inspiring story.

What an interesting book! Dr. Novic really does "tell it all," from his early childhood right through to the present, including his sexual encounters with men while in feminine mode.

His love and caring for his life partner and for their children is made very clear right from the opening pages of the book, a theme carried right through to the end. The balance he and his wife have struck in their married life as they come to grips with Alice, transgenderism and crossdressing is absolutely remarkable.

The common perception is that transgenderism is a choice. In answer to the question, "Is crossdressing a choice?" he clearly states, "Crossdressing is a choice, but being a crossdresser is not."

In Alice in Genderland Dr. Novic addresses just about every issue a crossdressing transgender faces in his/her life. In dealing with the issue of "passing" he says, "One good thing about not passing is that it forces you to grow as a person. If I had passed with ease, I probably would've continued to think I was doing something bad but getting away with it. I wouldn't have been spurred on to get comfortable and even proud of being a crossdresser. Similarly, transsexuals who've gotten comfortable with the fact that they aren't just like any other women tend to be better adjusted."

Throughout, Dr. Novic emphasizes the worries and cares common to life partners of just about every transgender. At one point in describing one of his wife's deepest concerns he says, "She worried that I might be gay but unable to face it. 'Perhaps you're rushing deeper and deeper into your relationship with me,' she would fret, 'so you don't have to face your true desires. Then maybe years later, you'll wake up and realize that you have to leave me and our kids to be with a man.'"

His rationale for crossdressing, he explains, is that, "... women's lib had proclaimed for years that it was all right for a woman to do anything men did. So I reasoned it was ok for me to do something women did -- get dolled up and dine out."

He goes on to explain, "Of course I should be free to express my femininity any way I saw fit -- on my own. But if I wanted to be Melissa's husband, she had to have some say in the matter so I didn't drift too far from being the kind of person she'd want to spend her life with. Throughout our years together, I've been very grateful for her tolerance given the norms of our culture, but still sometimes chafed at how she restricted my self-expression. Now, I realize that as an individual she was only negotiating for what she needed in order to be happy over the long run -- and thank god she did."

Advice for the crossdresser? There's a lot in this book, usually emphasized by descriptions of personal experience. For example, "One of the best remedies for homophobia and transphobia, I learned, is to come out and put a human face on the words gay, lesbian, crossdresser, and transsexual. That way people can know us for the human beings we are rather than the demons we're made out to be." And, "... whenever I had met a potential friend, I'd thought, Is this the kind of person who would like me if they really knew me? and then acted accordingly."

In his concluding remarks he addresses all who have "secret" problems. "Maybe you have your own indelible curse, which you strive to turn into a blessing? Or maybe someone you love does? If so, I hope my story has nourished and inspired you. One by one, we can make a difference."

Open and honest, this is a book well worth reading. However... I'm not sure I would want to give it to my wife... just yet!

Reading Alice in Genderland, one cannot help but be struck by the courage, intelligence, and generosity of its author. What a riveting tale! I could scarcely put it down.

Although Dr. Novic chooses not to beat the reader over the head with psychiatry, the insight and clarity of this perspective come through on every page. 'Alice' takes the reader down the rabbit hole and approachs her new life as an eager and open-minded experimentalist, constantly formulating and testing each new theory. The reader is kept abreast of each exciting and terrifying turn, and ultimately we get to share in the same conclusions and triumphs. As a TG latebloomer myself, I found her story very inspirational. This is one that'll stick with me for a long time.

I have been researching my own TG issues and stumbled onto this fascinating book. It's the rather well-written, compelling autobiography of a crossdressing psychiatrist who has negotiated a remarkable degree of freedom within his marriage and been able to live life to the fullest. Like most transgendered individuals, Richard's childhood history is an uncanny parallel to my own youthful confusion. And I found his book to be a vivid and accurate document of the TG social scene in L.A. in the late 90's. But its real value is in the refreshingly candid way Richard/Alice speaks of the conundrum of being born transgendered and the inner tension most of us experience because of it. Nothing is left out to protect the innocent, and Dr. Novic breaks down many walls with his honest and effective communication. I admire Richard's ability to understand Alice's basic needs and ultimately get those needs met. Many of us TG's just have too much emotional baggage from years spent trying to live up to being "the good son"--to sort out our own best path and maintain our self worth. It can be a difficult balancing act, which for some causes great guilt, shame, and even suicide. In the end, after a high-wire act of amazing adventures and near disasters, Dr. Richard Novic finds his balance, and offers the world a wonderful story and special fund TG knowledge in "Alice in Genderland."

This is the book for anyone trying to make sense of life as they stand on the edge of the rabbit hole, contemplating a jump. I read the account through in one sitting. The writing was compelling, a journey that gathered momentum with the turn of every page -- fueled by Dr. Novic's straight-forward, clear and at times un-blushing way he describes his courageous fall down the rabbit hole. He's amazingly deft at describing both the inner feelings and outer lives of Richard and Alice. This is possible, I believe, because Dr. Novic "did the work", as he describes in depth with various mentors and therapists (both good and bad) along the way. Dr. Novic's "been there/done that" admissions helped me sort through a lifetime of confusion that stems from irresistable feelings that can hijack someone, body, mind and soul from life as a man, husband, son and uncle.

Most valuable to this reader was Richard's spot-on descriptions of the "techniques" that I myself, thought I had invented (and like Richard, found ultimately futile) for quelling/suppressing, ignoring feelings that no little boy has ever been raised to deal with. Dr. Novic's professional journey from medical doctor to psychiatry and his personal journey from pain/confusion to understanding and on through acceptance to a joyful life is truly inspiring.

Reading Alice in Genderland, one cannot help but be struck by the courage, intelligence, and generosity of its author. What a riveting tale! I could scarcely put it down.

Although Dr. Novic chooses not to beat the reader over the head with psychiatry, the insight and clarity of this perspective come through on every page. 'Alice' takes the reader down the rabbit hole and approachs her new life as an eager and open-minded experimentalist, constantly formulating and testing each new theory. The reader is kept abreast of each exciting and terrifying turn, and ultimately we get to share in the same conclusions and triumphs. As a TG latebloomer myself, I found her story very inspirational. This is one that'll stick with me for a long time.

Reading Alice in Genderland, one cannot help but be struck by the courage, intelligence, and generosity of its author. What a riveting tale! I could scarcely put it down.

Although Dr. Novic chooses not to beat the reader over the head with psychiatry, the insight and clarity of this perspective come through on every page. 'Alice' takes the reader down the rabbit hole and approachs her new life as an eager and open-minded experimentalist, constantly formulating and testing each new theory. The reader is kept abreast of each exciting and terrifying turn, and ultimately we get to share in the same conclusions and triumphs. As a TG latebloomer myself, I found her story very inspirational. This is one that'll stick with me for a long time.