Going to Trinidad: A Doctor, a Colorado Town, and Stories from an Unlikely Gender Crossroads

by Martin J. Smith

Overview

For more than four decades, between 1969 and 2010, the remote former mining town of Trinidad, Colorado was the unlikely crossroads for approximately six thousand medical pilgrims who came looking for relief from the pain of gender dysphoria. The surgical skill and nonjudgmental compassion of surgeons Stanley Biber and his transgender protege Marci Bowers not only made the phrase “Going to Trinidad” a euphemism for gender confirmation surgery in the worldwide transgender community, but also turned the small outpost near the New Mexico border into what The New York Times once called “the sex-change capital of the world.”The full story of that nearly forgotten chapter in gender and medical history has never been told—until now. Award-winning writer Martin J. Smith spent two years researching not only the stories of Trinidad, Biber, and Bowers, but also tracking the lives of many transgender men and women who sought their services. The result is “Going to Trinidad,” which focuses on the complicated pre- and post-surgery lives of two Biber patients—Claudine Griggs and Walt Heyer—who experienced very different outcomes. Through them, Smith takes readers deep into the often-mystifying world of gender, genitalia, and sexuality, and chronicles a fascinating segment of the human species that's often misunderstood by those for whom gender remains a mostly binary male-or-female equation.The stories of Trinidad's surgeons and transgender pilgrims provide an important opportunity to better understand the millions of complex individuals whose personal struggle is complicated by today's quicksand of cultural pressures and prejudices. More than six thousand transgender men and women left Trinidad hoping that hormone therapy and surgical relief was the right prescription for their pain. For most it was, but not for all, and their experiences offer important and timely insights for those struggling to understand this sometimes confounding human condition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781917895101
Publisher:	Bower House
Publication date:	04/15/2021
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	1,076,874
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Martin J. Smith, a veteran journalist and former senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine, is the author of five crime novels and four previous nonfiction books. He has won more than fifty newspaper and magazine writing awards, and his novels have been nominated for three of the publishing industry’s most prestigious honors, including the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award, and the Barry Award.

Table of Contents

Preface-Crossroads ix

1 "Dear Dr. Biber" 1

2 "I Wish You Had Cancer" 9

3 Going to Trinidad 17

4 Cowboy with a Scalpel 31

5 The Elevator 43

6 Jesus Loses the War 55

7 Genitalia, Gender, and Sexuality 59

8 Coming Out in Trinidad 73

9 Claudine Awakens 79

10 Laura Awakens 87

11 First Steps on a Long Road 93

12 An Uncured Life 101

13 Relapse 107

14 The XY Factor 113

15 The Battle Continues 117

16 Finding a New State 123

17 Lost and Found 129

18 Claudine Meets Karen 137

19 Transition in Trinidad 141

20 Trouble in Trinidad 155

21 Happy in Plain Sight 159

22 The Yo-Yo Years 171

23 Surprise 181

24 An Era Ends 197

25 Post-Op Trinidad 211

Afterword 223

Acknowledgments 231

Notes 235

Index 241

Author Biography 249

Editorial Reviews

Smith came across the story after moving to Colorado in 2016. He had a cousin who transitioned and was always fascinated by what transgender people went through to be their true selves. Trinidad had given him a place to find answers through telling Biber and Bowers’ stories, but also those of some of their patients.

The Seattle Times - Nicole Brodeur

As a record of institutionalized perspectives on transgender people and the dominant beliefs concerning us at the time, Trinidad is indispensable. In a world that demeans, dehumanizes and discriminates against trans people, it is the story of a doctor who offered them a sense of ownership over their bodies. Ultimately, it’s a brutal telling—hard to read, though vital to hear.

High Country News - Claire Rudy Foster

Between 1969 and 2010, the small town of Trinidad, Colo., saw nearly 6,000 medical pilgrims pass through, seeking gender-affirming surgery from Dr. Stanley Biber and then successor Marci Bowers. This tiny spot played such a pivotal role, the phrase ‘going to Trinidad' became a euphemism for the surgery itself. Martin J. Smith, an award-winning journalist and former senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine who also has penned five crime novels and four nonfiction books, brings this overlooked chapter to life, structuring the book around the lives of two of Biber’s patients: Claudine Griggs and Walt Heyer…The history Smith uncovers in this book is essential.

San Francisco Chronicle - Anisse Gross

Smith’s story is a sensitive look at the pain and despair of transgender men and women. They have trouble finding jobs, are ostracized by family and friends, and some commit suicide… ‘Going to Trinidad’ is a groundbreaking work on sexual dysphoria and Colorado’s place in treating it.

The Denver Post - Sandra Dallas

Fortunately, we now have an expert account of Biber’s work and life from the former Los Angeles journalist and editor Martin J. Smith. Going to Trinidad: A Doctor, a Colorado Town, and Stories from an Unlikely Gender Crossroads functions as a biography on multiple levels: of Biber, of Trinidad, and of those who arrived to receive the surgery, primarily male to female. All of them are complicated subjects that defy easy categorization. And all of them live up to Smith’s opening words: ‘The best stories are about people who find themselves at a crossroads. They face a critical choice, and the choice they make in that crucible moment tells us who they are.’…Smith holds steadfastly to a nonjudgmental tone, acknowledging the courage and hardship that accompanied so many people on their journey to Trinidad, but also making the scientific record plain that surgery is not a cure-all for the unhappiness that can haunt trans people who feel they were misassigned. He walks readers through the thicket of academic literature on gender dysphoria, the sense of internal alienation.

Los Angeles Review of Books