"Truly moving. Hayden has created a heartfelt and often hilarious tribute to her life-and to the resilience of women everywhere." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Named one of Library Journal's BEST BOOKS OF 2015! A landmark work of graphic memoir and a cancer narrative that Gabrielle Bell (Lucky, Cecil & Jordan in New York, Everything is Flammable) calls, "comforting, straightforward and strongly connected to life." 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. 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.
Amanda Katherine Loy is not your typical twenty something year old. At the young age of 27, she had a preventative double mastectomy -- or as she likes to say, she chopped off her tits. She has the BRCA 1 gene mutation, which raises her risk of developing breast cancer over her lifetime to up to 85%.When she was going through the process of navigating surgery/genetic counseling etc, she felt so alone. There are no resources for young women navigating a genetic predisposition like this (or, for that matter, navigating breast cancer). So she made it her mission to change that. And thus, I Chopped Off My Tits was born.What started as her sharing the nitty gritty details of her story turned into a movement and, really, a book that not just women with her story can relate to, but anyone who has ever faced a traumatic event in their lifetime. It's funny, it's candid AF, and it's jam packed full of actionable tools to face your fears head on so you can live your f*ck yes life.
On my chest, there are two foreign objects where my breasts once were. One is a mound of flesh patchworked from soft pieces of my own stomach. The other object is a silicon bag of saline, covered in skin. Instead of nipples, I have two horizontal scars. I dont have words for what used to be my tits. Now, when I look at them, I know those scars saved my life. Karin Horen tells the remarkable story of her continuing battle with breast cancer. At just 26 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately underwent two surgeries, resulting in a partial mastectomy, a twelve-month course of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy. Unphased by her health scare, she moved forward with her life meeting a charismatic actor, Manu Bennett (Arrow, Spartacus), and moving to New Zealand to start a family. When the cancer returned, she had a full mastectomy of her left breast and a preventative mastectomy of her right. After her double mastectomy, Karin struggled with her turbulent relationship and her body image. She took inspiration from her three daughters and found a new purpose with her Breast Cancer fundraising efforts, including co-founding Paddle for Hope, and co-developing Paddle On, a rehabilitation programme for those whose lives have been affected by cancer.
A novel that “considers the agency . . . women exert over their bodies and charts the emotional underpinnings of physical changes . . . with humor and empathy” (The New Yorker). On a sweltering summer day, Makiko travels from Osaka to Tokyo, where her sister Natsu lives. She is in the company of her daughter, Midoriko, who has lately grown silent, finding herself unable to voice the vague yet overwhelming pressures associated with adolescence. Over the course of their few days together in the capital, Midoriko’s silence will prove a catalyst for each woman to confront her fears and family secrets. On yet another summer’s day eight years later, Natsu, during a journey back to her native city, confronts her anxieties about growing old alone and childless. Bestselling author Mieko Kawakami mixes stylistic inventiveness and riveting emotional depth to tell a story of contemporary womanhood in Japan. “Took my breath away.” —Haruki Murakami, #1 New York Times–bestselling author The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle “Kawakami lobbed a literary grenade into the fusty, male-dominated world of Japanese fiction with Breast and Eggs.” —The Economist “A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman.” —TIME “Raw, funny, mundane, heartbreaking.” —The Atlantic “A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan.” —Entertainment Weekly “Timely feminist themes; strange, surreal prose; and wonderful characters will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers.” —The New York Observer “Bracing and evocative, tender yet unflinching.” —Publishers Weekly “Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body—its discomforts, its appetites, its smells and secretions. And she is especially good at capturing its longings.” —The New York Times Book Review
"Hayden's work reminds me of why I began drawing comics, and why I continue. They're comforting, straightforward and strongly connected to life." -- Gabrielle Bell, author of Lucky and Cecil and Jordan in New York "Underwire explores the funny, and often absurd, aspects of being a lady. Cheers to the artist for spotlighting female characters... and, hopefully, getting more women psyched about comics."-- Whitney Matheson, USA Today "Hayden's cheerful profanity and scratchy lines give the work a homey, intimate feel... Hayden's stories are like comfortable, lived-in jeans--not the most stylish or flattering, but the ones you want to spend time wearing."-- Publishers Weekly "We observe as she watches her 12-year-old daughter learn how to hold her temper; we feel her impatience when the kids won't go to sleep and let her drink and chat the night away with old girlfriends; and we can't help but identify with her view of aging, which isn't so much graceful as it is graced by good humor and undaunted optimism... This is a book with plenty of staying power."-- Booklist "The central character is the author herself, and she's a joy. She's bawdy, messy, raucous, and entirely human -- as likely to sit around with her friends, slamming wine and gossiping, as she is to lament over her son leaving for college... Hayden is seriously fun, alive, and inspiring -- as an artist, a writer, a woman, and a human being. Brava!"-- Under the Radar "With a busy black-and-white palette of comforting cartoon grit, Hayden recalls Robert and Aline Crumb in this offkey anthem to misfit domesticity."-- Adam McGovern, Comic Critique Sometimes you just gotta pick yourself up by your brastraps. Underwire collects the wise and witty autobiographical comics of an captivating new voice: Jennifer Hayden, cartoonist and politically incorrect mother of two. She may not have all the answers, but she's not gonna let that stop her from enjoying the prime of her life -- her forties! Since its internet debut at ACT-I-VATE.com, Underwire has attracted praise for its sharp tongue, enchanting style, and warm wisdom. These everyday observations -- about womanhood, parenthood, growing up, and rocking out -- add up to something not only funny, but also quite profound. After a few stories, you might even feel like a member of the family. Now, for the first time in print, Top Shelf presents twenty-two stories from the beloved webcomic, plus seventeen new pages of comics and art created exclusively for this collection.
After watching too many family members die of cancer, at age 28, public speaker and comedian Caitlin Brodnick was tested for the BRCA1 gene mutation and tested positive, indicating an 87% chance she'd likely be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. She had a preventative double mastectomy, thereby becoming an everywoman's Angelina Jolie. Dangerous Boobies: Breaking Up with My Time-Bomb Breasts goes in depth into her experience from testing to surgery and on to recovery. With a warm, funny, and approachable voice, Caitlin tells readers the full story, even sharing what it was like to go from a size 32G bra -- giant, for a woman who is barely over five feet tall! -- to a 32C. Engaging and open, she admits to having hated her breasts long before her surgery, and enjoying the process of "designing" her new breasts, from the shape of the breasts to the size and color of the nipples. While Caitlin's primary narrative explores the BRCA gene and breast cancer, her story is also one about body acceptance and what it takes to be confident with and in charge of one's body. Her speaking engagements and comedy routines have shown that the wider topic of breasts, breast size, and personal identity is resonating with younger readers.
Meet Fire--Jamaican-born, charming, poetic, and talented--a man who's vowed to never play "love-is-blind" games again. Then he meets Sylvia, a beautiful magazine editor who keeps her passions under lock and key. Together they must choose between the love in their lives and the love of their lives. From the galleries of Soho to the brownstones of Brooklyn, from the nightclubs of London to the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, Channer takes us on a wild, soul-searching ride as Fire and Sylvia try to connect, disconnect, and reconnect amid conflicting desires and wounds from the past. But through intricate love triangles, skewed priorities, and crushing personal tragedies, Fire, Sylvia, and their friends must learn that some things in life are worth fighting for. If not, you're simply waiting in vain.
18 year old Hadley has led a charmed life, always knowing exactly what she wanted from it. She'd had her life distinctly mapped out in her head for as long as she remembered, but a chance meeting sends her into a tailspin...albeit a sensationally delicious one. As she travels halfway across the world to fight for what's hers, she stumbles time after time. It's a journey of love, tears and learning; as she fights and attempts to overcome multiple hurdles standing in her way. READER REVIEWS "I recommend it to fans of romance, chick lit and humor" -Shruti Faren "Brings back all those happy memories of first falling in love... LOVED it!" -Penelope Leilani "This is pure frothy chick-lit. An easy read I really didn't want to finish." -Lucy Westerveldt
'I have these firm tits as a rule (nothing to write home about) but a decent size and shape all the same, and they get better as the month progresses, but the day my period starts, my boobs die in the butt, decreasing by a full cup size or two. Okay, so I'm prone to exaggeration, but they do resemble the ones you see hanging off a dingo. So if a function is coming up and the outfit I have chosen requires my perky, full, Marilyn Monroe big'ns, you can bet your boots I'll have my post-menstrual Dingo tits...' By the narrative's end, Tanya has two brand new perky tits, but without nipples. They'll come later. In the meantime, there are always those stick-on ones you can buy in sex shops... Tanya Brown's gutsy in-your-face account of dealing with a highly aggressive form of breast cancer will make you laugh through the tears. Here is Dolly Parton stepping out of Steel Magnolias into Crocodile Dundee's shoes.
