About the Book
By: Stephen Malherbe
| In his book Living With My X, Stephen describes the profound effects Klinefelter’s syndrome had on his puberty, fertility, growth and development. He describes his journey through a turbulent life; a journey fraught with misunderstandings of his condition and littered with broken relationships. He seeks love and acceptance. In this, he is no different from the rest of us. |
As a young boy, Stephen always felt different from his friends - he was smaller, less self-assured and often sickly. He struggled with classroom learning and school sports. Only as a shy, embarrassed 'sixteen-year-old with the body of a boy of ten' was Stephen diagnosed with Klinefelter's syndrome, a medical disorder resulting from his cells having one X chromosome more than is normal for males. Symptoms of the condition include small testicles, resulting in sterility; gynaecomastia, the enlargement of the breasts; low energy levels and self-esteem; communication and learning difficulties; developmental delays; and decreased libido, among many others. | With appropriate treatment, Stephen's body began to develop into that of a man and he felt able to embark on a 'normal' life, one that included girlfriends, marriage and a career. Many uphill battles later, Stephen reached a point of spiritual strength from which he could begin to tell his story. Living with my X is a unique and deeply personal account of a man living in the shadow of a genetic condition that is less rare than one thinks. click here to buy the book |