Woman with side effects

She was an engineer, she was a dominatrix. She was a man, she was a woman. Macho and girl. All paths were open to her, but she lacked courage. For over sixty years, my gender boundaries were fluid. Like warring nations, constantly at war with each other. Even as a child, I wanted to wear girls' clothes and had to quickly learn to hide my true self. The parents: hopelessly overwhelmed. In post-war Germany, one had to achieve something. Children were expected to function. Thus, this life story unfolds as a long, adventurous rollercoaster ride. Lacking enlightening information, I eventually thought I was sick. Why was I so completely different? On the outside, there were only boy things, hostility, abuse, sleeping pills, and fear of madness. Increasing doubts and depression ultimately led to a mental breakdown, suicidal thoughts, and later even to psychiatry. My path to a free life goes through shame and exclusion but culminates in self-determination. It is a story with - warning: spoiler - a happy ending. Or what else should one call it when Inès Adler, after sixty-three years and a brief career as an escort girl, now develops technologies for CO2-neutral combustion engines with unbroken drive?.