The Story of My Tits is a graphic novel / memoir by Jennifer Hayden. The book starts out with her as a young girl, wishing for breasts. She finally got what she had been longing for. She went to college. She met a guy. Her mother was diagnoses with breast cancer. She finally convinced her boyfriend they should get married and then finally convinced him to have kids. They had 2. Then she found out that she too had breast cancer. This book tells her story in an interesting way – since she drew it and wrote it. It’s a different approach to a memoir and one that I enjoyed reading.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
A landmark work of graphic memoir and a cancer narrative that pulls no punches! 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 and humor, The Story of My Tits will leave you laughing, weeping, and feeling grateful for every day.