The Other Woman

In 2007 life was humming along quite nicely. Happily married for 28 years to the love of my life, three gorgeous children and now living in idyllic surroundings, it was like a dream. That dream was soon to turn into a nightmare. When my husband took me for a walk along the beach one March afternoon I did not expect to come back facing a completely different life and wondering what on earth I was going to do next.

Like all families we had our ups and downs but we always seemed to sort ourselves out. However, my husband's revelation as we walked along the beach together was going to be a hard thing to work through. How do you hold it all together when you husband tells you that he has always wanted to live as a woman? With no experience and very little knowledge of what transgender meant I naïvely believed that it would be possible for me to support my husband and keep our family together.

This is the story of the impact on all of us of Colin's transition from male to female and the sometimes absurd happenings as I searched for new love and romance. Our story is one that hasn't really been explored yet but it is worth learning about as the journey applies to many people out there who are stoic and determined, sometimes to their own detriment and that of their families, who are coming to terms with the loss of their partner, father, brother or son.

If there are any lessons in these pages, they are that what any of us does has a direct impact on those who love us and as hard as it may be, there are times when it just can't be about us; try to remember that those around you deserve your support too.