Hello and welcome back to all the small things. I'm Venetia and I am so excited to be bringing

you this conversation with Paris Lees. Paris Lees is a writer, presenter and the first

openly trans person to be a contributing editor for Vogue. She has just released her debut

book What It Feels Like For A Girl, which is an unmissable coming-of-age memoir following

the story of Byron Lees growing up on a cancel estate in a dead end town in East Midlands.

It's written in an evocative vernacular style with an utterly immersive depiction of early

naughty culture. Here's a short extract of the audiobook performed by Paris to give you

a taste. When we come out, I went to the edge of the castle and looked down the cliff edge.

Not very good at working out eyes, but let's reset her a long way down. They built

these posh arses into the cliffs, but they just look like dolls' arses from up there.

Bit further along there's a cave that Uncle Rodge used to live in drawing one of his episodes.

I climbed onto the wall and stood up. Max tried to grab me, but I told him to let go where

I jump. Said I'd be alright if you just left me alone. I would terrified, but it felt

great. I don't know what it is about eyes. I'm scared of them.

Dead scared. But I'm not scared of falling. I'm scared of jumping.

Because whenever I'm high up, I get this overwhelming urge to just leap off.

I'm not so suicidal. I don't want to die or out. It's just knowing that you can. How

easy it'd be to do it. And I'm at so simple, so instant, kind of the power to change your

life forever. I'm sitting on the edge of Liam's bed looking at that gun. I feel exactly

the same way as I did on the edge of that cliff. Alright then Liam, I go. Let's do it.

Now the book is not always an easy read, as Paris's adolescence was highly dramatic

with periods of bullying, a trouble time life, rebellion, sexual abuse and crime. This

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