Dress Codes : Of 3 Girlhoods - My Mother'S, My Father's and Mine

"I have a dad who is a woman, much like me, but with better legs." Growing up, Noelle Howey hardly spoke to her distant, bad-tempered father. "After coming home, he'd mix up a twelve-consonant vodka and orange juice and then sleep, watch TV, drink, and sleep again. Occasionally, he'd shake up the routine by eating a salad." Instead Noelle drew all her comfort from her wonderful, tomboyish mother. Then, when she reached 14, Noelle finally discovered her father's secret: Dick Howey liked to wear women's clothing. In fact, he wanted to be a woman. For years Dick had hidden his true nature behind a brusque, masculine persona. With his secret out, everything changed. Noelle, used to being ignored, now has to deal with a father who wants to be involved in her life. Hard enough to get used to, but even worse, because of her father's hormone treatment, they're going through adolescence together. With wit, honesty, hard-learned wisdom, and absolutely no self-pity, Noelle Howey tells her family's extraordinary story and explores that most universal of truths: that you cannot enjoy love and happiness until you accept who you really are.