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4.49 AVERAGE
4.49 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences.”
I will not romanticize Audre Lorde’s breast cancer journey in the 80s. But, dear God, all the social and political commentaries she documented in her reconciliation with her woman/queer community are still relevant today. She shared her struggles with breast cancer and mastectomy, and how her personal choice of not wearing prosthetics challenged societal norms and body image back then. She also criticizes the beauty industry, which exploits women's emotional and physical concerns for profit. She was ahead of her time. As a reader who loves evocative imagery and lyrical writing, I cannot love this more.
I was thinking, "What is it like to be making love to a
woman and have only one breast brushing against her?"
I thought, "How will we fit so perfectly together ever
again?"
I thought, "I wonder if our love-making had anything
to do with it?"
I thought, "What will it be like making love to me? Will
she still find my body delicious?"
And for the first time deeply and fleetingly a groundswell of sadness rolled up over me that filled my mouth and eyes almost to drowning. My right breast represented such an area of feeling and pleasure for me, how could I bear never to feel that again?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Misogyny
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
i accidentally always read audre in the autumn. a quote from this collection was my first tattoo, which i got on my 18th birthday. this is a book about lorde's battle with breast cancer, and her parsing & processing of this thing that threatens her life & her body while also being a part of, a result of, intertwined with both. it felt, maybe un/surprisingly, relevant to me -- i'm getting top surgery at the beginning of next year -- & although lorde is centered so steadily in her womanhood, much of the alienation & love & fear & fury she grapples with is applicable to trans experience, especially navigating the medical system, networks of care & mutual aid, & intra-community support... idk... audre eternal !! universal !! i'm so lucky to read her !!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Moving and has certainly given me a lot to think about.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
A must read for all!
Great read that explores the reality life with and post breast cancer as a woman. It touches on the how your body changes physically, in the sight of sight and your own eyes.
I will be reading this book in the future and I will look into getting my own physical copy of this book.
Great read that explores the reality life with and post breast cancer as a woman. It touches on the how your body changes physically, in the sight of sight and your own eyes.
I will be reading this book in the future and I will look into getting my own physical copy of this book.