Ladyparts: A Memoir

"Breasts. Uterus. Cervix. Heart. Vagina. The source of life, right? Well, for writer and photographer Deborah Copaken, it turned out to be just the opposite--almost. Between escaping from an abusive marriage, facing down the challenge of single-parenthood, and attempting to find love again, getting her bearings after everything she knew fell to pieces proved more slippery than she ever could have anticipated. From a Fourth of July health scare that brings new meaning to the words rocket's red glare, to wearing a giant heart monitor while out on dates to try and mend a heart both literally and figuratively broken, Lady Parts is Copaken's irreverent inventory of the female body and all the ailments that can befall it. Copaken's Lady Parts mines for irony the breakdown of a body during a time of intense spiritual and psychological upheaval, and paints with both black humor and breathtaking candor the portrait of a woman in revolt. From bloodclots and breast exams, heart palpitations and heartbreaks, to the terror, loneliness, and empowerment of a woman fighting for her life, Copaken weaves her harrowing experiences together with insights from medical and historical research to show how many of these common health issues and disabilities merely amplify what women around the world confront on a daily basis: warped beauty standards, workplace sexism, worries about romantic partners, and mistrust of their own bodies"--… (more)