A dream has come true for Tenika Watson.
The 63-year-old transgender woman’s memoirs were published earlier this month as an eBook on Amazon.com.
“It was a dream for me to get this book,” Watson said. “Since the 1990s, I’ve wanted my story told. It’s finally come to life. I’m very proud of my baby.”
“My Life is No Accident” is a first-person account of Watson’s life from childhood to the present day.
The 177-page book was written by Jennifer Daelyn, who conducted dozens of interviews with Watson over the course of about a year.
“I’m very grateful to Jennifer,” Watson said. “She did a great job. It’s all my words. But she pulled it together and created a very readable narrative.”
Working on her memoirs was cathartic, Watson noted.
“It was very healing. And I hope it can help heal somebody else.”
Watson said she believes everything in life happens for a reason, hence the book’s title.
“It’s also a play on words because of the accident I was involved in with Teddy [Pendergrass]. I don’t want that incident to define me. I survived it. I guess that’s the way it was meant to be.”
In 1982, Watson was in a Rolls-Royce driven by the famous singer when the vehicle’s brakes failed and it careened into two trees.
While Watson walked away with minor injuries, Pendergrass suffered a spinal-cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down
Watson credits prior advice given by her sister Liz for avoiding serious injury.
“When the car went out of control, something in my mind said, Remember what Liz said. She was a nurse. And she told me if you’re ever in an accident, don’t tense up. Just be limp. I guess that’s what saved me.”
Watson may have been spared severe physical injury, but emotionally she went into a tailspin.
She felt survivor’s guilt, and news articles that outed her transgender status caused her great consternation.
The articles also divulged her past as a sex worker, and implied that she and Pendergrass were involved sexually.
“It was like l couldn’t just be friends with a straight man — there had to be a sexual relationship,” Watson said.
Watson hopes her book will put those rumors to rest. “Teddy was just giving me a ride home,” she said.
Watson said she felt very bad for Pendergrass, but she also had to cope with her own problems.
She was ostracized by neighbors, and despite her striking looks, it became challenging to find work as a model and entertainer.
“Some of my neighbors wouldn’t speak to me,” she added. “Even the guy at the deli wouldn’t talk to me. It really hurt my feelings. I got on Valiums, and one thing led to another.”
Eventually she became addicted to drugs and alcohol, but she’s been clean and sober since 1998.
On a happier note, the book celebrates Watson’s 1977 gender-reassignment surgery in moving terms.
“The person that I had always been between my ears was now the same person that I was between my legs. I felt perfect. I was finally complete. I was free.”
Watson said the surgery was integral to her survival.
“After my gender surgery, I became stronger and more confident. It was the main thing that helped me survive. If I didn’t have my surgery, I would have sunk into a depression that I probably wouldn’t have been able to pick myself out of.”
The support of family, friends and therapists helped her get through difficult times.
“My childhood was an emotional roller coaster. It’s taken me many years to confront it and get past it. Today, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t need to be validated by others, because I feel like I’m a child of the universe with a right to be here.”
She’s forgiven people who’ve done her wrong, and she’s also forgiven herself. “I wasn’t a saint,” she noted.
She has no regrets in life, including her past as a sex worker, which ended in 2007.
“I did it to keep a roof over my head and get myself fed. Tricking became an addiction. The quick money and easier life. You become so hooked on it, it really is an addiction. You’re your own boss. You don’t have to answer to anybody. And you don’t have to deal with the world. You feel it’s easier to go out and turn a trick rather than try to get a job.”
Still a beauty in her 60s, she keeps busy with her artwork, sewing and spending time with family and friends.
She’s happy to call Philadelphia her home. “I’ve moved around quite a bit, but I’m settled in Philadelphia.”
Retirement suits her just fine, she added.
“I’m a retired lady and it agrees with me. I have no resentments. I look back on my life and think of how blessed I’ve been.”