According to the laws of logic, an entity cannot be other than itself. From the beginning, or so it now seems, I realized this to be my truth. To live as anything other than my feminine self was unthinkable. I had to be the female I recognized myself to be, despite the fact that the pediatrician had noted "Sex: Male" on my birth certificate.

To breathe life and passion into my true being meant I could not be bullied into gender conformity. I knew that unless I followed my dreams, I would very likely end up in the dead center of nowhere.

Would I take the journey that brought me to this place again? You betcha. Would I advise anyone to follow in my footsteps? Not on your tintype!

On second thought, neither would I advise a drama student to pursue theatre as a profession. Acting is fraught with risks-though perhaps not as many pitfalls as gender reassignment still presents.

In either case, if young actors and/or transsexuals have the required strength and fortitude, they will (dare I say, must) follow their own paths. They do not need my encouragement; I can speak for no one other than myself. This book offers a series of signposts along a gender path that has worked for me. It is about the lifetime spent living, embracing, and glorifying my truth as a woman.

Who knows about the future? Gender reassignment is in its infancy. As for me, I'm grateful I was wise-and lucky-enough to become the woman I was born to be.

For nearly 50 years, Aleshia Brevard hid the fact that she was not born female from her friends, stepchildren, fellow actors and actresses, film producers, students and university administrators, and even from her four husbands.

The Woman I Was Born to Be is a sequel to Ms. Brevard's earlier book, The Woman I Was NOT Born to Be. This book covers the second half of her life, describing the many challenges she encountered and triumphs she achieved after the fulfillment of her boyhood dream to change genders and become accepted as a woman.

The Woman I Was Born to Be is not merely a transsexual tale. It is a story of personal evolution, of coming of age, and realizing that to deny one's history is to deny oneself. In this memoir, Ms. Brevard addresses present-day gender issues in counterpoint with flashbacks from her own personal story, which includes her professional success in the theater, television, and in academia.

The Woman I Was Born to Be is both an autobiographical account of one woman's life and a retrospective on the ever-changing landscape of the gender community. With wit, candor, and insight, Ms. Brevard entertains, educates, and enlightens as she tells her unique saga. Find a comfortable seat and turn the first page. By book's end, you'll agree Aleshia Brevard is living life to the fullest as the woman she was born to be.