Patricia's turbulent tale ends in personal triumph as she copes with a life that didn't exactly get off to an easy start.

In this extract, Patricia, who was born with Klinefelter's Syndrome, where males have an extra female X chromosome, recalls her personal confusion between being a gay man, a butch lesbian and finally a woman.

As a child she recalls getting support from her siblings though people were generally confused by her since she was born male. Treatment in the 1960s, a time when there was little or no support, consisted of testosterone implants and androgen injections, most of which didn't work and were rejected.

Lacking any libido led to her relationship breaking down and sessions at a Gender Identity Clinic. Despite joining an all-male gay outdoor group, Patricia felt that she still didn't belong and she was also rejected by transvestite groups, and later by transexual groups, as she had no affinity with the former's accent on clothes and the latter's accent on identity.

Patricia comments that she only wore clothes according to how she felt or if she was going out and also mentions that her partner was never able to cope with her wearing women's clothes.

Patricia was born male to an Irish Protestant family in Dublin. Having Klinefelter Syndrome, where males are born with an extra female chromosome, making them XXY rather than XY, meant that with the onset of puberty, Patricia would develop breasts and other secondary female sexual characteristics.

Rejected by her father, and later by the Australian Immigration Service, on the grounds that she would always be infertile, Patricia would go on to lead a colourful but very confused life.

A spell in the Army led to early attempts at gender-reassignment to male, which involved mastectomies and a regime of hormone-based medication. These attempts were reversed in the early 1990s.

Following her days in the Army, Patricia went into the catering business and later, the antiques trade. She was also a member of Bath's chapter of KENRIC - a social group for older lesbians.

KENRIC is the UK's longest-running lesbian organisation. Founded in 1965 in Kensington and Richmond, it continues to offer safe spaces for lesbians to meet and socialise.