Chapter 1

First Dose - Tuesday, March 3, Afternoon

I never set out to become a hedonistic, promiscuous hermaphrodite, but once it happened, I embraced every inch of the change without a single regret.

I grew up in the Midwest with an ordinary childhood, met David in college, and married him before my senior year. I crossed the graduation stage belly swollen by our twins, Alex and Peter. After college I took a steady job at an insurance company while pouring most of my energy into raising the boys and loving David. Two years later our daughter Jessica arrived, completing the family.

By the time everything began to shift I was forty-two, an empty-nester with the boys sharing a dorm at State and Jessica at a small liberal-arts college. David, forty-three, still looked as fit and handsome as the day we met; he lifted weights and ran every morning. I stayed trim with Peloton rides and yoga, and once overheard one of the boys’ friends call me a MILF. I still wore a bikini without hesitation.

It started with a single injection. After months of uterine pain and anemia and too many tests, Dr. Jill, my gynecologist came up with a diagnosis, but she said the only treatment available was a hysterectomy. I wasn’t ready to go that far yet, and told her I’d deal with the discomfort and anemia for now. Two weeks later, she called to tell me that I was eligible to participate in a drug trial for my condition, some cocktail of hormones, steroids, and other stuff. I readily agreed, and after mountains of paperwork was given my first of a series of weekly shots.

Dr. Jill did tell me that since I was the first human to receive this medication, they didn’t know what the side effects were going to be, so I should take thorough notes about my body and feelings to discuss at my weekly visits.