Mick describes himself as a transman: a person who was assigned as female at birth but whose gender identity is that of a man. His voice Rik supported him through this change.
Rik makes me aware of my gender issues and he makes sure I will no longer ignore or avoid it. His other task is to make me aware of how and what I feel in moments when I’m not able to feel things yet. Although I don’t know where my ‘transgender journey’ will take me, I’m really grateful that Rik keeps me sharp regarding this gender issue, as I already feel more myself than I have ever done.
It’s all in my head! – a story about hearing voices is an illustrated book aimed at people who hear voices, their families, carers, friends, and social workers. Mick created the book not only by taking inspiration from his own experience of living with voices but also by working with Rik, one of his voices who showed him how important drawing could be for him. The drawings in the book present Mick’s voices and takes the reader on the journey he made with his voices to get where he is today.
Through his book, Mick wants to show that his voices help him with useful, although often clumsy, messages that can be of great benefit if you learn to listen and that voices do not come out of the blue, but are a creative solution to dealing with and living in difficult circumstances.