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The Second Half of My Notorious Life
Simon and Schuster
February 2007
On Sale: February 6, 2007
320 pages
ISBN: 0743290135
EAN: 9780743290135
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Memoir
In 1975, at the age of forty, Richard Raskind, a renowned
eye surgeon and highly ranked amateur tennis player, "died,"
and Renée Richards was "born," in what was to become the
most public and highly scrutinized sex reassignment to date.
It was not until Renée Richards was discovered playing in an
amateur tennis tournament that the world took notice.
Extensive media coverage and criticism thrust Renée
reluctantly into the spotlight, sparking an intense public
debate over her private life. Now, at seventy-two, Richards
looks back and speaks frankly about all aspects of her
complicated and often notorious life in this eye-opening,
thought-provoking memoir. Richards' honest and compelling narrative explores the
dichotomy between the successful life she lived as Dr.
Richard Raskind, who seemed to have everything (devoted
friends, a beautiful wife and son, a stellar record of
academic and professional achievement, and outstanding
athletic ability), and a secret life of struggle with a
drive that could not be suppressed, even by years of
psychotherapy and the force of a considerable will. Richards takes readers through her difficult decision to
undergo surgery and the complex mixture of relief and
continued frustration that came with the realization of her
new identity. Discussing life after her transformation,
Richards candidly relates the details, trials, and pleasures
of her romantic life as well as fascinating stories about
her tennis career, including her experiences as Martina
Navratilova's coach. She also provides an intimate account
of her difficult but rewarding relationship with her
rebellious son: runaway teenager, high-stakes Vegas gambler,
karate champion, and entrepreneur. She describes the
deterioration of a once-loving marriage and the challenges
of reclaiming her place at the forefront of her demanding
medical specialty. Having lived as a woman almost as long as she lived as a
man, Richards draws on a personal history that illuminates
thirty years of remarkable change in society's attitude
toward gender issues. Her absorbing and inspiring story, at
once heartbreaking and uplifting, is a testimony to how far
we have progressed in our ability to discuss and accept
sexuality in all its iterations, as well as a reminder of
how far we still must travel.
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