In a recent HuffPost Gay Voices blog post, doctor and author Danielle Kaufman wrote about the day when she, still living as a man, learned her wife is...

My spouse, Jean, transitioned about 11 years ago. We've been together for 16 years and will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary this spring. This has been a long journey for both of us.

Just as telling my co-workers that I am transgender was necessary to making progress in my transition, opening better dialogue with would-be allies is necessary to making progress on transgender issues. Bridging the gap requires both sides to adjust how they do things.

What if I did find my birth family after all these years? And how would they handle meeting a young woman instead of a baby boy who should have grown into manhood? I was left with few ideas to reconcile my concerns.

Around the age of 18, I realized that there was something off about me; I just didn't know what it was or what to do. I did know that I did not like who I was or my appearance. I did not recognize the person in the mirror. I asked myself, "Could I be transgender?" I was terrified.

I got married and had kids, trying to live as a woman. I tried to convince myself I was normal and a woman: "See? I have kids and a husband." Then I woke up... I knew who I was, but I was afraid of it. Who would accept me? Would I be able to accept myself?

Though many guys I've dated do not and may never know the gender history of the girl they randomly made out with, I have relayed my story to a select few. But there is only one man whom I wanted to tell my story to from the very first night we met.