Tongue-tied & Twisted - Lisa Longbottom

Have you ever felt as if life is one obstacle after another? Can you imagine being both physically and emotionally abused as a child? Never feeling safe, accompanied with little more than fear itself. Alongside this, there is a perpetual questioning of your gender. But you can only bury this deeply inside of yourself. Finally, you leave home and despite feeling broken you enter another world of violence as an infantry soldier. After several years, your hunger and thirst for life is ravaging. You travel the world, by hitchhiking and adventure bicycle touring. Yet all along inside, you are still broken, ultimately leading to the to the inevitable breakdown of your mental health. However, in time you learn to live again, this time around as female. Yet it is here that the true predators show their ugly selves. Discrimination and abuse simply become part and parcel of everyday life, as you do not belong in their world. At this point you could choose to appease everyone and just tow the line. Instead, you take your own path, stand tall and embrace who you are. I am not just transgender; I am third gender. These are my rhymes. Welcome to my world.