Body Parts: "Breasts"

Book: Breasts

Author: Florence Williams
Pages: 283
Copy: advanced reading copy from Readers' Books (my copy is therefore different from the actual hardcover that was released in May)
Read: July 5-7

Spoilers: another non-fiction piece...

Prior to August 2009, I'd never given my breasts much thought.  As a young woman uncomfortable with the trappings of traditional femininity, breasts embarrassed me.  But when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, when my mom lost one of her breasts, I began to think about my own differently.  I'm still not entirely comfortable with my breasts, but I certainly don't hate them like I use to.

This is a round-about way of opening a review of this book, but I think it's important for me to admit that I read this book because I have a history with breast cancer.  I knew perhaps half of what Williams wrote about and the other half had more to do with society and evolution than with breast health.  I don't know how groundbreaking her book really is, no matter how groundbreaking she considers it.  For instance, much of her discussion of chemicals can be found in other places, particularly in any writing that looks at chemicals in the environment.  That being said, anyone unfamiliar with the topic of chemicals in the environment and the body will find this book an informative start.

In some ways, this book makes it appear that any woman living in the United States is going to get breast cancer.  Caught between the chemicals in our food and possessions and our medical habits, breast cancer has become more and more likely.  If you add genetic history to the mix, getting cancer seems inevitable.  I doubt that this was Williams' intention, but I certainly finished the book wondering when I was going to get cancer--not if.  Perhaps this is the greatest weakness of the book, that Williams never offers any sort of solution or way forward.

Overall, this book is fairly good.  It's informative and scientific without being overwhelming.  Williams is certainly channeling Mary Roach's style of non-fiction (personal anecdotes, involving her family and herself in experiments, occasional humorous asides, and so on), but Williams doesn't do it as effectively.  Perhaps her next book will be able to effortlessly capture the spirit of Mary Roach, but in this book Williams comes off as trying too hard.

I would suggest this book to anyone who is distantly connected to breast cancer--perhaps a friend of a friend or a distant cousin has been diagnosed and you want to learn more.  It's a good introduction to the topic and all the different ways that breast cancer can arise.  It's possible this would be a good book for someone who has gone through breast cancer, but I think anyone who has been through cancer knows much of this information already.  I worry that anyone who is closely connected to breast cancer would leave this book fearing for their lives--so be prepared for that.

--Benvolia

Update: September 17, 2012

The New York Times recently ran a review of Breasts.   Like most NYT book reviews, this one fawns a bit, but it certainly gives a better overview than my own.  The reviewer also makes some interesting points.  "I hope," the reviewer writes, "men will read this book — not because it will make them less inclined to drool over bizarre, artificially enhanced, porn-star cleavage. But because the dangers that Williams details are not exclusive to women. They threaten our entire species."  At any rate, if you want another point of view, here you go.