Transparently: Behind the Scenes of a Good Life

By Lisa Salazar

It wasn’t always clear to Santiago Salazar that somewhere inside him was a Lisa that would someday—a long time into the future—show herself to the world. Born in Colombia, Santiago grew up in California and moved to Vancouver in the early 1970s to start a successful career as a graphic designer and photographer. After living the first forty eight years of life as Santiago, a married, heterosexual man and father of three children and devout Christian, Santiago was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a term that describes the challenges, and opportunities, that some have with sexual identity. But it would take almost ten more years to reconcile this diagnosis with her Christian faith before she could decide to transition to womanhood. For someone who had been a husband and a father, it was the beginning an amazing new life. Having recently completed her medical and surgical transformation, Lisa shares the story of her journey as a transwoman and Christian; written with tenderness, humility, sensitivity and complete transparency. A must read for anyone who struggles to understand their own gender identity, or a friend's or loved one's—especially when faith is central in their life. Transparently is an engaging story, told by a brave woman who made the call to accept what she knew she was, and had always been.