Escaping The Unicorn Basket is a fascinating insight through the eyes of the author into life before, during and after transitioning from female to male.

Alexander Marcus shares his thoughts, experiences and ideas about being transgender, giving insights into his world and why he transitioned. He shares about those who were supportive as well as challenges he has faced along the way with people in his life and with professionals he has encountered.

A few months ago I was emailed by Alex and asked if I would review his book Escaping The Unicorn Basket. In the email Alex said “I have no idea whether or not you are LGBT+ friendly”. I felt sad seeing this written because I naively assume that people are kind and respectfully to each other and think it is a shame that Alex felt he had to write that. Alex shared about often meeting negativity from people and so he makes it a habit to ask when he is approaching people he doesn’t know personally. After reading Escaping The Unicorn Basket I can see why Alex might feel the need to ask people he doesn’t know whether they are LGBT+ friendly. In his book he talks about friends he has lost because of revealing that he is transgender.

In Escaping The Unicorn Blanket Alex shares his thoughts, experiences and ideas about being transgender, giving insights into his world and why he transitioned. The first thing which struck me was the way the book is written in a personable and engaging manner. The book also poses interesting questions which I’ve never given thought to before, like “when did you know you were a boy or a girl?” This is something I had never thought about before. Alex explains about his childhood and knowing who he was and disliking the imposed rules expecting him to conform to fit in in school and to play the expected role as a girl.

The book overall was a fascinating, informative and emotive read, it takes the reader from Alex’s childhood, through his teens and into adulthood. Alex shares about challenges he has unfortunately faced with educational and medical professionals over the years as well as struggles with relationships, with friends, in school and within work and the mental health challenges he has experienced. There is also mention of those who stood by him and supported him on his journey. I also found it an interesting read gaining insight into his experiences within different countries that he has lived in. The book explains about the process of transitioning from female to male and gives information about the different options available. Some of the information Alex shares is information that he says he would find rude to be asked and uncomfortable to have to talk about, yet is information that many people are likely to be curious about.

There was one bit I found uncomfortable reading. I don’t normally have a problem with blood, but oddly, reading about a complication that happened following one of the procedures which involved blood was a difficult section of the book to read, although the way it was handled by the medical profession annoyed me more than my uncomfortableness from reading the blood-filled account.

I would definitely recommend people read Escaping The Unicorn Basket it is such a great book. You can find it on all Amazon sites as an eBook or in Paperback.