How much does a body have to suffer to belong?

At just seventeen years old, the protagonist of this story finds a folder with her name on it. Upon opening it, she discovers a truth: she is intersex. Little by little, everything becomes clear: the family secrets, the marks on her body, the pain, the guilt.

Twenty-one years later, through arduous research, Candelaria Schamun decided to delve into her own history. In doing so, she created an impressive autobiographical work in which she gradually reconstructs her identity until she can now celebrate and defend her intersexuality, but not before experiencing unimaginable, violent, and difficult situations from a very young age.

Schamun's story is powerful, essential, raw, and healing. A narrative that celebrates diversity and, at the same time, firmly denounces how ignorance can exert pressure on bodies in the name of a supposed normality, as well as its consequences.

«The one I was It should be read in nurseries, schools, colleges, universities, towns, cities, streets, parks… Perhaps in this way we would begin to understand that the world and bodies are not as we were told they should be, and we would discover that they should not be any other way.”
Sabina Urraca

About the author:

Candelaria Schamun (La Plata, 1981) is an intersex journalist and writer. She has worked as a crime reporter for the newspaper Criticism, in the Society section of Clarion and as a news producer for the C5N channel, always linked to narrative and investigative journalism. She is also the author of Lamb of God, regarding the femicide of Candela Sol Rodríguez. 

With The person I used to be. File of a bodily rebellion She became a leading voice on intersexuality in the Spanish-speaking world. Her book was highlighted among the best non-fiction titles of the year by media outlets such as Infobae and received recognition from organizations like Amnesty International Argentina, which named her a leading LGBTIQ+ figure in its "Voices that Transform" program.