Squirrel Cage

A deeply personal and brutally honest look at gender dysphoria. If you've ever wondered how someone could yearn to change their genetic gender enough to expose themselves to all the social pressures, potential embarrassments and even violence acting on that urge to change can bring, here is a book by someone who has been through it and will pull no punches in chronicling the adventure. It's great reading and great insight into dealing with alternative lifestyles.My only criticism of the book was that it could use better copy editing. For instance, there seemed to be a gap in the later part of the book where an emotionally exhausted Cindi jumps from determination to end transitioning and goes back home to reunite with an estranged family to being in her car heading straight back to California and gender reassignment surgery -- no explanation of what brought about crisis. There are also a few typos and stranded words where the sentence changed structure mid composition. The author mentions struggling with ADHD and dyslexia in school, afflictions I do not share while often making the same sorts of errors in my writing.Nobody interested in the topic should let the above comment sway them from reading Squirrel Cage. There are no editing issues that make the book difficult to digest. Some are so subtle that my own brain would correct them on the fly and only a nagging sense that something was amiss would drag my eyes back to find the glitch. Read Squirrel Cage. As I did, I think that you'll enjoy it, you'll learn from it, and you'll expand your understanding of others locked in an inner struggle you may have never faced but as a human can completely empathize with.

This is a self-published memoir, and it is a nicely written one, unlike so many other self-publishing travesties. There are many proof-reading errors related to grammar and punctuation, and the chapter titles could be more integrated into a whole. Likewise, there is almost no layout, just words on a page. I've been an editor of a professional scientific journal for 30 years, and so these things do catch my attention.However, the story itself is well-told and has moments of depth, insight, pathos and joy. The craft in the writing is reasonably good and engaging.What is more important is the content of this story. It is about how one person faced her inner demons, or squirrels, as the case may be, in coming to terms with her transsexuality. I can attest to this hard life, either living a lie and slowly dying, or living openly who you are, confronting your religious beliefs and the religious tenets of your family, friends and community, and being pushed out and dismissed by all. In Cindi's case, it was the fortunate happenstance to find people who began to see her not through the lens of their religion or social beliefs, but for who she was. One of the aspects of Cindi's story that resonated was her desire to live an honest life free of lying, deceit, stealing and other negative behaviors, but being forced to do so in order to survive. Her transition allowed her to be once again an honorable person, freed from the need to do ill in order to live.Highly recommended!

What an incredible story! It is labeled as a transgender memoir, but there is so much more to it than that.One of my greatest strengths is the ability to be non-judgemental in all situations. One of my greatest weaknesses is the harsh judgement of myself. I was truly touched to read about Cindi's struggle to accept and love herself. Although I am comfortable with my gender, I can relate to Cindi's story for many other reasons.I firmly believe that every single one of us has a Squirrel. The personality of each person's Squirrel widely varies. Some are easy to hide. Others, like Cindi's, are on display for the world to see and judge. Many people try to silence their Squirrel through the use of drugs, alcohol, food, and a myriad of other vices or addictions. The lucky ones, in my opinion, are like Cindi - they work at understanding their Squirrel until they are happy with the results.If you have a Squirrel (admit it, you do!), read this book. It will open your eyes to a whole new world.

I read a lot of Memoirs and just happened to read this one shortly after Bruce Jenner made his public appearance on national TV. My heart breaks that we live in a world where everyone is expected to conform and live by the rules and expectations of religion and society. We are not all round fitting in round holes. I felt truly saddened by David/Cindi's failed marriage and his wife's decision to isolate him from his children. I hope and pray that someday Cindi is reunited with her children so that she can have a relationship with them. I found this to be an interesting journey from the perspective of someone actually living a transsexual lifestyle. I can't even begin to imagine the hurt, humiliation, isolation and pain that anyone born with this issue goes through. Perhaps it wasn't written perfectly, but I saw through some of that and felt all of the suffering Cindi went through to become herself. I was grateful for each friend she met along the way that helped her deal with many of the issues.

Squirrel Cage by Cindi Jones is one of the premier memoirs on gender transition I have read. Recently, I downloaded the Kindle version and listened to the book, which I had first read in paperback form in 2009. It is not often that I revisit a book, but in this case, I’m glad I did.This work stands out as one of the most poignant, gut-wrenching and inspiring works about transsexualism you can read. Squirrel Cage is a story about the struggle of a person driven inexorably by the demons of gender dysphoria, coming to terms with who she really is. It takes on the universal themes of love, betrayal, loss and perseverance, leading to eventual triumph in the face of the most daunting deterrents.Overcoming his own internal strife and the barriers that place him at odds with his religion, his employers, his wife and family, it is a story that chronicles one man’s transition to a female gender role and eventually, to a productive and fulfilling life as a woman.

I just love Cindi Jones for writing this. It does leap about a bit but, and she warns about that -- but it is no problem, to be honest. It is a privilege to read of such a life with its ups and downs in every possible corner of a very personal life. Being gender conflicted is no joke and no fun. To deal with it in this way of life is very brave. It is also so very honest that it hurts at times. There are many ways in which gender disphoria manifests and sometimes it is impossible to deal with. For me, she has done the very-nearly impossible. At first she has to fight off the purveyors of her own particular faith - that must be painful enough, especially when it went on and on and on. At one point they actually broke her spirit but the squirrel in her cage had other ideas. There is also a poetry about the way Cindi Jones has presented this. There is extreme sadness and great joy that both come across, together with a glimpse of colour and some amazing people. It depends on who you are, I guess but I would like everyone to read this book, please! It is not for the narow-minded, though.

I know of two transgender women, one of whom recommended me this book to enable me to better understand her gender dysphoria. This book is the true story of David; born male but self-identified as a female from a young age. It's an autobiography that takes the reader on the journey that David takes to present the person that he has always been on the inside; Cindi.It is not always easy to read the heartbreak and struggles that Cindi has had to overcome to be true to herself but they are necessary struggles if she is to embrace life fully and with acceptance as a woman.

5 stars is hardly enough for this book. Only sleep, food and work stopped me from devouring every word in the book. The more I read, the deeper I was pulled into a life so similar to mine that it was, at times, difficult to continue without seeing the reflection and the pain reaching out from the pages to touch me where it hurts. The minutia of the journey and experience are different but the feeling, the pain and the struggle came through loud and clear.A person is born with gender dysphoria; it is definitely not a life style choice as some would have you believe. When one has a problem with work or a relationship you can always leave and move on to pastures new. When it is the body that opposes everything you feel you are, you are with those feelings all day, every day. There is no down time. It doesn't go away. When will my reflection show who I am inside.The ordeal Cindi experiences is typical of most transsexuals in that her family and friends try to 'fix' the perceived problem by stealth, control and subterfuge being unwilling to learn about dysphoria in order to help her. That is left to very close friends, group therapy and psychiatrists. And when religion is added to the mix, as Cindi explains so vividly, the pain increases a hundredfold. I cannot imagine a more painful time when one is refused access to one's children. It is as though it is our fault for having gender dysphoria. It was clear to me that Cindi's family were more interested in family honour and sin than trying to help her through to a conclusion.We all approach the struggle differently to find an exit from our dilemma. Cindi eventually chose sleeping pills as one such option. I am glad she didn't succeed as we need way showers to guide others along a road littered with misfortune, sadness and hardship. Well, the universe doesn't give you any points for doing things that are easy. Looking for the gift in any situation is the most demanding challenge one has to face.In choosing to write her journey down for us to witness it clearly shows that Cindi has reached a point where she has found the major part of herself that is the most important; honesty and vulnerability, traits sadly lacking in most people these days.This book is not just for those experiencing gender dysphoria. It is for those on a journey of self-discovery and that dear reader, covers just about everyone.

I've read quite a few transgender biographies and autobiographies and this has been by far the best of the bunch. Cindi had a rough ride to transition with several u turns as a result of her religious upbringing and uncompromising attitudes and brainwashing of her acquaintances. She tells her story as it is and without the copious amounts of navel gazing I've found in some accounts. It is perhaps interesting to note that she worked in the IT industry (as so it seems many trans people do) when the internet was in its early days and was thus lucky to have this as a means of communication before many others did. Furthermore it seems she "passed" easily in the early stages of her transition, always helpful.

Wow! I was drawn in deep from the first chapter and never would have imagined that of myself who knows nothing on the subject matter. I, like so many of the other reviewers, could not put the book down. I was routing for Cindi all the way through and was soooo glad how your story ended. Look forward to the next book.

A book well written A journey about transgender, heartbreak and happiness.strength,and courage. written before Cindi could be free to be herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I came away with admiration for the author and her struggle to overcome so many obstacles and reach her goal. Inspirational.

I really really enjoyed this book. At times I felt heartbroken for cindi with all she had to deal with. I didnt expect much from this free book but it was 100 times better than expected.

This was an awesome read. Fascinating and heart warming. I could not put it down. Thankyou Cindi for sharing your candid story. I hope it will facilitate increased awareness and understanding of gender dysphoria X

Came across this book and thought I would give it a go. Love the way it is written. Heart breaking but also uplifting. You deserve every bit of happiness

An amazing book. I couldn't put it down.

Kind of boring in sections; a slow read but an OK story.