Dear sir or madam:

Her perplexed parents saw their daughter as a very awkward adolescent. Brenda Rees hated being 'awkward', and hated even more her female role and body. No one seemed to understand that 'she' was really a 'he'. Young Brenda saw no hope of relieving this conflict; her apparently unique condition condemned her to isolation, verbal abuse and misunderstanding. She spent five useless months in a psychiatric hospital. But at the age of twenty-seven, Brenda discovered the existence of transsexualism. She was not alone, and it appeared that help was at hand. Dear Sir or Madam tells of Brenda's struggle through adolescence and into adulthood - her search for understanding, the long and tortuous process of becoming Mark, his legal battles and his media exposure. In becoming himself, Mark was enabled to live a richer and fuller life than he could ever have done as Brenda. The book is an account of how it is possible for a known transsexual to be accepted by society. In 1994 Mark was elected as a Borough Councillor by the people amongst whom he has lived all his life.