Never Climbed His Mountain
One Life's Journey To The Heights And The Abyss (Second Edition)
By Julian Gladstone

"Emerson wrote: "How shall a man escape from his ancestors, or draw off from his veins the black drop which he drew from his father's or his mother's life?" And so the journey begins with the far greater influence - a mother, once a sweatshop immigrant attaining prominence in the fashion world and a father who amasses and squanders fortunes before disbarment. Whether being born to two dominant parents - anything but close in Julian's formative years - helped bring about his transvestism is conjecture, but this reviewer notes early on in this memoir the thread of guilt and misgivings - baggage that gnaws his conscience throughout his life. The explicit descriptions of discovering sex; in fact Julian's selfish obsession with sex, leaves little doubt of his heterosexuality. But the turmoil results in a protective veneer that shields him from reciprocating to those who love him. Julian's frequent self-examinations are especially critical, so he might be excused for being equally harsh towards his wife's weaknesses."    > Read the full review