The Great Elephant Ride

This book is a documentary about a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. Dr. Stephanie Anne Timmer’s story starts out like many individuals who are born transgender, but her life becomes anything but ordinary. Born into an ultra-conservative religious family, she joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17. Due to vision challenges, she was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps and a few years later became legally blind.

She is a parent of four children and runs her own software company; she frequently lectures on literacy and education, and most recently competed as a woman in the Paralympics National and Masters Nationals, winning silver in multiple events.

The Great Elephant Ride looks at the many facets of how being born transgender shapes a person’s self-perception as well as how others perceive them. It discusses the hard topics that are associated with coming to terms with who one really is. The Great Elephant Ride will take you through the struggles associated with growing up, self discovery, Gender History, Pink Fog, Coming Out, Transitioning, and Post Op.

Dr Stephanie Timmer is a blind, transgender woman with extraordinary vision. She has been fortunate enough to have been able to see the world as a person with and without a disability, as an outcast, as a parent, as a man, and as a woman.

ReviewAll I can say is wow, what a trip - Blind, a runner, losing over 100 pounds, and transitioning - each one in itself is a story Dr. S Howard --Individual working in the mental health profession

About the AuthorStephanie Anne Timmer is an ordinary person living an extraordinary life. Motivated by her passions and driven by her courage, Stephanie is an inventor, a visionary, a writer, a software engineer, a long-distance runner, a teacher, a student, an advocate, an athlete, a philanthropist, a parent, and a former officer in the United States military. She holds doctorates in Business Philosophy and Educational Administration, an MBA, as well as undergraduate degrees in arts and sciences. She is the owner of a successful assistive technology company and a published writer. She is the holder of four world records in distance running. Stephanie is also legally blind and has spent a lifetime overcoming challenges and tearing down barriers. After losing her vision in early adulthood, Stephanie started using her programming knowledge to create technology that would marginalize the impact her disability had on her life. Her innovations are not the result of hours and hours spent in front of a computer. Stephanie s innovations are the product of her own experiences and her belief that all challenges can be overcome. Since losing her sight, Stephanie has spent the last decade promoting technology as an integral part of education. She has expanded the concept of E-Learning to include E-Teaching and is working to create a learning environment that levels the playing field for all students. One of Stephanie s current projects is to bring attention to the difficulties faced by those with literacy challenges. Combining her passion for literacy with her passion for running, Stephanie founded Run 4 Literacy in June 2008. Her efforts in Running 4 Literacy provide much needed awareness for literacy issues as well as much needed fundraising opportunities for literacy organizations. Stephanie is one person working to give all students the same opportunities to succeed. She is one woman who did not let her skills and her passions fall victim to her own challenges. She is one woman who has achieved much through a simple belief in herself. She is a blind woman with vision. Stephanie Anne Timmer is an ordinary woman living an extraordinary life.