Told in three parts - SEX, FOOD, CANCER - this is a short, powerful memoir about one woman's relationship with her body and a universally relatable story for anyone who has ever had, or lost, breasts
Told in three parts - SEX, FOOD, CANCER - this is a short, powerful memoir about one woman's relationship with her body and a universally relatable story for anyone who has ever had, or lost, breasts
'I LOVED this book' Nina Stibbe
'A must-read' Jessie Burton In this short, striking memoir, Jean Hannah Edelstein charts the course of her unexpectedly brief relationship with breasts. As she comes of age, she learns that breasts are a source of both shame and power. In early motherhood, she sees her breasts transform into a source of sustenance and a locus of pain. And then, all too soon, she is faced with a diagnosis and forced to confront what it means to lose and rebuild an essential part of yourself. Funny and moving, elegant and furious and full of heart, Breasts is an original and indispensable read. It is both an intimate account of one woman's relationship with her own body and a universally relatable story for anyone who has ever had - or lost - breasts.Jean Hannah Edelstein is a glorious writer. I LOVED this book - furious and moving and laugh-out-loud funny -- Nina Stibbe, author of LOVE, NINA
In this unwavering, sharp and profoundly thoughtful memoir, Jean Hannah Edelstein unfolds her experiences, both universal and devastatingly unique, with trademark tenderness and wit . . . a must-read -- Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist
Brilliant and exquisite. Nobody writes about the curveballs life throws at you, or helps you deal with them, like Jean Hannah Edelstein -- David Whitehouse, author of About A Son
Absolutely loved it. Painful and funny and essential -- Francesca Segal
Jean Hannah Edelstein is honest, cynical, loving and funny. Breasts is a special book - short and powerful with no messing around. For people with breasts, mothers, women with cancer, and the people who love them, it will be an indispensable read -- Jessica Stanley
Unique and beautiful . . . so tender and furious and funny -- Jo Cheetham, author of Killjoy
With brevity, piquancy and wit, Jean Hannah Edelstein has written a memoir that speaks directly to the public and private nature of bodies and autonomy. Her prose has the buoyancy and bravery of fellow New Yorker Laurie Colwin -- Catherine Taylor, author of The Stirrings
I would read anything Jean Hannah Edelstein writes. Breasts is a thunderclap of a memoir. When I read it, in a single sitting, I was blown away. Breasts is one of those books you read and just know instantly that it's going into the canon; it feels so urgent, and yet somehow like it's always existed. The writing is stunning, lyrical and funny and absolutely smarting with truth. Reading it, I felt seen in a way I haven't for a long time, and that I was being given permission to be angry about so many experiences I had dismissed or buried or been told to ignore. I love how fearlessly Edelstein writes, how she embraces contradiction, how funny she is and how deeply she feels. It is a difficult time to be a woman and books like this have never been more vital. Read it if you have breasts or if you know someone with breasts -- Marianne Levy, author of Don’t Forget to Scream
I loved this book. A perfect small-form memoir, it is smart, funny and heartbreaking. It has made me think again about the body and how it shapes us and our identity, and how all of a sudden it can take such a tragically different turn. It is the best account of the shock of losing your breasts to cancer I have read. Devastating, but also funny, illuminating and charming, leaving me rooting for Edelstein, and wanting to get my hands on everything else she has written -- Lily Dunn, author of Sins of my Father
Jean Hannah Edelstein is a British-American writer. Her memoir, This Really Isn't About You, was published by Picador in 2018. Her journalism has been published in numerous UK and US outlets, including the Guardian, Elle and New York Magazine, and she's contributed to radio programmes including This American Life. She lives with her family in Montclair, New Jersey.
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