Status
Checked out
Publication
IDW - TOP SHELF (2015), 352 pages
Description
When Jennifer Hayden was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 43, she realized that her tits told a story. Across a lifetime, they'd held so many meanings: hope and fear, pride and embarrassment, life and death. And then they were gone. Now, their story has become a way of understanding her story. Growing up flat-chested and highly aware of her inadequacies�?� heading off to college, where she "bloomed" in more ways than one�?� navigating adulthood between her mother's mastectomy, her father's mistress, and her musician boyfriend's problems of his own-not to mention his sprawling family. Then the kids come along�?� As cancer strikes three different lives, some relationships crumble while others emerge even stronger, and this sarcastic child of the '70s finally finds a goddess she can believe in. For everyone who's faced cancer personally, or watched a loved one fight that battle, Hayden's story is a much-needed breath of fresh air, an irresistible blend of sweetness and skepticism. Rich with both symbolism & humor, The Story of My Tits will leave you laughing, weeping, and feeling grateful for e… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Karen59
Sometimes it seems that almost everybody I know has had breast cancer or know's somebody else who does. This fierce and loving graphic memoir is about Jennifer Hayden's own harrowing struggle through Stage 0 breast cancer when she was in her forties as well as the story of her mother's mastectomy
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when Ms Hayden was younger. What I enjoyed most about Ms Hayden's story was her ability to show us how a family, over time and through affairs, divorce, step parenting and of course, the brutal diagnosis and treatment of breast, and other cancers, handled, in their own genuine, clumsy, hurtful and loving manner the vicissitudes of family life. Ms Hayden skillfully shows us how imperfect love can be and how in the end it is what we have as we plow through the hard stuff. I also enjoyed Ms Hayden's story of h er tits as she pines for them as a teenager, watches them grown and take "shape" and misses them when they are gone. Yet, it is quite clear that she has made peace with this and has grown to love her body as is, an almost impossible task for women in this culture. I also wanted to heartily congratulate her for not being swayed by New Age philosophies that subtly, and not so subtly blame the victim for cancer while she does clearly appreciating all that she has. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion. Show Less
LibraryThing member EBT1002
I read this hefty Graphic Memoir in one evening and loved every minute of it. The author's relationship with her breasts, from childhood through adolescence and wild young adulthood, through motherhood, and through breast cancer -- all this is the vehicle for a poignant, honest, funny, and sweet
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memoir about life. The heartbreak of parental disappointment, the joy of finding a true love (and his flawed and wonderful family!), the terror of facing death and loss and uncertainty -- it's all there. As the narrator finds redemption in coming to terms with her body as it is, and as she learns that it is not her; as she finds meaning and solace in the absence of meaning, I resonated with joy. The novel made me chuckle and it made me cry; in that it joins a list of favorite reads for the year. Show Less
LibraryThing member msf59
Jennifer Hayden grew up flat-chested. She was frustrated and embarrassed. Suddenly, she bloomed in her later teens. She was happy, with her new endowments and then her mother developed breast cancer and had a mastectomy.
Was her turn next? At age, 43, she was diagnosed with the same thing, targeting
Jennifer decided to tell her story, in an illustrated format. It is brutally frank, funny and quite emotional.
Breast cancer runs in my own family: my mother, my sister and aunt were all survivors, so I found this story, especially rewarding and gave me a better insight into their struggle. Highly recommended.
Was her turn next? At age, 43, she was diagnosed with the same thing, targeting
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the same breast.Jennifer decided to tell her story, in an illustrated format. It is brutally frank, funny and quite emotional.
Breast cancer runs in my own family: my mother, my sister and aunt were all survivors, so I found this story, especially rewarding and gave me a better insight into their struggle. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member jnwelch
I just finished The Story of My Tits, thanks to msf59's recommendation, and it was topnotch. It centers around the author's and her family's experiences with breast cancer, and also covers such things as her growing up and family life. It's told with wit and humor and compassion, and could easily
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sit on the shelf next to Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Jennifer Hayden looks at her life before, during and after breast cancer, her choices in having a radical mastectomy and how it has shaded her life. It's worth a read, introspective but life-affirming.
Which reminds me, should set up a reminder on my phone about my boob squish this year. Before my
Which reminds me, should set up a reminder on my phone about my boob squish this year. Before my
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annual oncologists visit. (for a different cancer) Show Less
LibraryThing member -Eva-
Jennifer Hayden tells the story of her tits, her mother's tits, and her mother-in-law's lungs. It's not easy to decide to pick up a story that you already know is about cancer, but with a title like this one, how could you not want to try. And it's worth it - Hayden does a really good job at making
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a difficult tale not only heartfelt and sincere, but really quite funny. Sure, you're bound to shed a few tears during this read, but the overall take-away is optimism and peace. The drawings are simple, but not simplistic and, when it counts, conveys some very difficult feelings in an honest and punch-in-the-gut manner. Highly recommended for anyone who has had a loved one be diagnosed with cancer. And to anyone who hasn't. Show Less
LibraryThing member csoki637
I added this book to my to-read list after reading Nancy Powell's in-depth review in Shelf Awareness. Hayden's graphic memoir is "an emotionally gripping and self-deprecating, yet good-natured tale of cancer survival and a celebration of all things inherently female." Wow! Must read this, I
But having finished the book, I can't agree that it's a "landmark work deserving a place in the pantheon of comics artists," even though Hayden is certainly talented. Her choice to frame her life through the story of her breasts is creative, her narrative compelling. She builds a moving story, tragedy striking with an emotional intensity.
But ultimately marring the memoir is the blatant, unchallenged misogyny. You can't ignore it — Hayden grows up in a family where her father leaves issues Playboy on the living room table for his daughters to aspire to, and before she's even hit puberty she knows that her mother's ultimate pride is in having big enough breasts to impress her husband. Hayden internalizes this world view wholesale, and breasts, and boys, become the all-consuming drama of her life. "Do boys like tits or personality?" she asks, worried, as a teen lacking the former, that she has no value in the economy of patriarchy. She dates men who make misogynistic jokes and endlessly comment on her body as representation of her worth. She defends her philandering misogynist of a father — a man who, let's be clear, abandons his once well-endowed wife when she's hit by breast cancer — and refuses to forgive herself for not forgiving him immediately. This man is described, mildly, by Hayden's boyfriend as a "skirt-chaser" — probably the harshest term to befall him in the entire book.
The degree of misogyny in the men around Hayden, alongside her own unchallenged internalized misogyny, is hard to stomach. And it's no fault of Hayden's that she grows up as a woman in a woman-hating world. But, disappointingly, she doesn't grow in this regard. She moves from "Boys like tits, not personality" to "Boys like both," but never ever considers the possibility that she doesn't exist for boys, that what boys like is not the point.
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thought, and put it on hold at the library.But having finished the book, I can't agree that it's a "landmark work deserving a place in the pantheon of comics artists," even though Hayden is certainly talented. Her choice to frame her life through the story of her breasts is creative, her narrative compelling. She builds a moving story, tragedy striking with an emotional intensity.
But ultimately marring the memoir is the blatant, unchallenged misogyny. You can't ignore it — Hayden grows up in a family where her father leaves issues Playboy on the living room table for his daughters to aspire to, and before she's even hit puberty she knows that her mother's ultimate pride is in having big enough breasts to impress her husband. Hayden internalizes this world view wholesale, and breasts, and boys, become the all-consuming drama of her life. "Do boys like tits or personality?" she asks, worried, as a teen lacking the former, that she has no value in the economy of patriarchy. She dates men who make misogynistic jokes and endlessly comment on her body as representation of her worth. She defends her philandering misogynist of a father — a man who, let's be clear, abandons his once well-endowed wife when she's hit by breast cancer — and refuses to forgive herself for not forgiving him immediately. This man is described, mildly, by Hayden's boyfriend as a "skirt-chaser" — probably the harshest term to befall him in the entire book.
The degree of misogyny in the men around Hayden, alongside her own unchallenged internalized misogyny, is hard to stomach. And it's no fault of Hayden's that she grows up as a woman in a woman-hating world. But, disappointingly, she doesn't grow in this regard. She moves from "Boys like tits, not personality" to "Boys like both," but never ever considers the possibility that she doesn't exist for boys, that what boys like is not the point.
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
Reading this seemed too much like a chore. The subject matter was interesting at times, but felt too unfocused or dull at others. The constant barrage of little footnotes embedded in the artwork was distracting. And this is admittedly petty, but the gutter between horizontal panels was way too wide
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and should have been closer in size to the gutter between the vertical panels. It constantly threw off the panel-to-panel flow for me, causing me to pause unnecessarily or even occasionally causing me to jump down to the lower panel instead of across to the right panel. Show Less
LibraryThing member raizel
I pretty much agree with the previous reviews. While I tagged this book as nonfiction, the author explains that she has made changes to "protect the integrity of the tale."
Let me just add that I found the descriptions of her choices and treatment potentially helpful and the last page of the story
Let me just add that I found the descriptions of her choices and treatment potentially helpful and the last page of the story
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(see Last Words) most meaningful! Show Less
LibraryThing member JessicaReadsThings
Wow. This was an amazing (and amazingly illustrated) story.
Awards
NPR: Books We Love (2015)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
352 p.; 7.8 x 1.1 inches
ISBN
1603090541 / 9781603090544