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Alyce Unchained (Autobiography)
by Alyce Anders

Alyce Unchained is part fiction and part memoir dealing with Gender Identity and the difficulties of growing up Intersex. It consists of a novella, a short memoir focusing on her childhood, a collection of short stories, as well as several essays on the subject. The fictional stories are character driven, most of which are based on Alyce’s life experiences.

Amazon Link: http://a.co/36QCOHB

About the Author:

Alyce Anders studied creative writing and photojournalism at the City University of New York and currently writes about issues that affect the Transgender and Intersex communities. Her Trans Life column can be found in the Desert Outlook magazine, a USA Today publication. She was formerly a board member of the Transgender Community Coalition, where she served as the Secretary as well as the organization’s Intersex ambassador.

On August 30, 2017, Alyce was issued a corrected birth certificate from New York City, which accurately indicates her sex at birth as INTERSEX. At that time, she was just the third known recipient of an INTERSEX birth certificate in the United States.

Alyce M. Anders

Bonus Interview:

  • Q: There are quite a few references to your religion in Alyce Unchained. Do you consider yourself a religious or spiritual person?
  • A: No, not really. But I am a product of a Catholic education, and it’s so ingrained in me that it sometimes seeps out into my writing. But unlike the first lesson we learned in catechism class, God did not make us in His image and likeness, we made God in our image.
  • Q: “The Boy” seems to be a traditional memoir based on your early childhood. The character Alex in Alyce and Alex is a high school student. Is his story a continuation of your childhood memoir?
  • A: Yes, very much so. All the events that happened are true, but since I did present them in a fictionalized form, I was able to embellish the stories a little bit. For example, the touch football story is real; in fact, it happened continually to the point that I looked for any reason to be excused from PE each week. But most of the dialogue was written to enhance the story.
  • Q: Were you actually harassed like that in the gym shower?
  • Yes, it was devastating, and it damaged me for most of my life. I originally considered it bullying, but since I started living as a woman, I realize that I was actually being sexually harassed. My male persona could never accept that. But now, after witnessing all the women in the #metoo movement that have come forward to speak out against their abusers, I’m ready to call it out for what it was. I was sexually molested.
  • Q: Despite the serious issues you discuss in Alyce Unchained, it doesn’t come across as being depressing. In fact, it almost seems hopeful.
  • A: I think that’s because of where I am at this stage of my life. I never thought I’d ever get the opportunity to be me, so I locked myself away in the darkness of my soul.  But now I’ve escaped those chains, and I want to share my story with others who have suffered like me. Living in that much pain without the hope of redemption is unendurable.