Why I Wore Lipstick: To My Mastectomy
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By: Geralyn Lucas
Format: Hardcover
From: St. Martin's Press
Pub. Date: August 2004
From: St. Martin's Press
Pub. Date: August 2004
Product Details:
Catalog: Book
Release Date: 2004-09-09
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Pages: 224
Ean: 9780312334451
Isbn: 0312334451
Catalog: Book
Release Date: 2004-09-09
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Pages: 224
Ean: 9780312334451
Isbn: 0312334451
ABOUT THE BOOK
EDITORIAL REVIEW
A soulful, surprising coming of age journey by a dynamo who used her own adversity as a platform for examining issues all young women face.
Having finished journalism school and landed her dream job at age 27, the last thing Geralyn Lucas expects to hear is a breast cancer diagnosis. She decides to go public with her disease despite fears about the backlash at work, and her bold choices in treatment are irreverent and uplifting. When her breast is under construction and her hair is falling out, her skirts get shorter. She goes to work every day and gets promoted. She has sex with her bandages on. She reinvents her beauty and in a bold move of conscious objection, forgoes the final phase of her breast reconstruction: the nipple. She is reborn in a tattoo parlor when she gets a heart tattoo where her nipple once was.
Geralyn recovers from her mastectomy and chemo and has a baby in the same hospital where she was treated for cancer. What could have been a huge negative for this young cancer survivor became the impetus to examine her own sexuality and burgeoning womanhood. Virtually nothing has been written for women of a young age who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This book also deals with the broader issue of self-acceptance that anyone grappling with questions of illness, self-image and sexuality can identify with.
Having finished journalism school and landed her dream job at age 27, the last thing Geralyn Lucas expects to hear is a breast cancer diagnosis. She decides to go public with her disease despite fears about the backlash at work, and her bold choices in treatment are irreverent and uplifting. When her breast is under construction and her hair is falling out, her skirts get shorter. She goes to work every day and gets promoted. She has sex with her bandages on. She reinvents her beauty and in a bold move of conscious objection, forgoes the final phase of her breast reconstruction: the nipple. She is reborn in a tattoo parlor when she gets a heart tattoo where her nipple once was.
Geralyn recovers from her mastectomy and chemo and has a baby in the same hospital where she was treated for cancer. What could have been a huge negative for this young cancer survivor became the impetus to examine her own sexuality and burgeoning womanhood. Virtually nothing has been written for women of a young age who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This book also deals with the broader issue of self-acceptance that anyone grappling with questions of illness, self-image and sexuality can identify with.
USER REVIEWS
"I loved this book. I am a breast cancer survivor, and I can relate to everything she is saying. It is also so hilarious! I gave this book to my mom and my best friend to help them understand my world. It really helped."
~ Written on 2008-06-13
~ Written on 2008-06-13
"I had to have a bi-laterial mastectomy last year and this book was recommended to me by my oncologist. I found it very inspirational and have decided to pass it on to anyone that I know that has battled breast cancer. It was funny at times and sad at times, just like my own experience with this devastating disease that affects so many women."
~ Written on 2008-05-05
~ Written on 2008-05-05
"I agree wholeheartedly with most of the positive reviews here. This lady faced her dark hours with a sense of humor about herself as well as those around her who couldn't know what it exactly felt like to be in her shoes. The path of cancer or any serious condition is fraught with faux pas of medical staff as well as loved ones and acquaintances. There is no set script for anyone to follow. The author meets these issues and her illness with a fighting spirit. Well-written,funny and a stark view of cancer victim reality with a empowering edge."
~ Written on 2008-04-23
~ Written on 2008-04-23
"please see, "Goddesses Don't Buy Green Bananas" THis is a photographic story about more than one person with cancer... read about their bravery and courage and fear. "
~ Written on 2008-03-20
~ Written on 2008-03-20
"Geralyn Lucas was 27 years old when doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer. Her career was in high gear. Her marriage to a young physician was solid. Her hopes of one day having a baby were ever-present. The last thing she expected to hear was that she had a diagnosis that she equated with only older women--breast cancer.
The 27 year old was a graduate from Columbia University School of Journalism and had secured a position as the editorial producer for ABC News' popular 20/20 show. She hadn't bargained for breast cancer to threaten her career, her hopes of becoming a mother, or her life. But that is exactly what happened.
In her poignant and refreshingly honest book, Lucas shares her emotional rollercoaster, her physical ups and downs and her walk through the treatment phases of her disease. Complete with the issues of chemotherapy side effects, reconstructive surgery, and marital strains, this book is gut-wrenchingly honest in its portrayal of a life turned upside down and inside out at the pronouncement of a life-threatening disease. It is also a totally life-affirming reflection on how one woman faced down the monster that is called breast cancer.
From 'victim' to 'survivor' to 'advocate' Geralyn Lucas walks us through the maze of a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. While her focus is on the younger population with this diagnosis, this book is a healthy and honest glimpse into the real world of any woman who is dealing with the disease--and for anyone who is helping her deal with it--at any stage. Newly diagnosed women will be inspired, those going through treatment will nod in agreement, those who are disease free will applaud her work with survivors' groups, and family members will thank her for allowing them to peek into what might be going on inside their own loved one's head during the whole process. Geralyn voices for all women what most women do not dare to admit--their own fear, their vulnerability, their ambivilence.
Readers will cheer when she defiantly yet confidently swipes her lips with lipstick as she prepares to enter the operating room. They will continue to cheer as she returns time and time again to her source of feminine power and courage--her lipstick--to remind her of the hope and promise she carries deep within.
This is a must read for anyone whose life has been touched by breast cancer. Having read many books on the topic, I can honestly say that this is by far, one of the most candid and uplifting. Geralyn has become my heroine for she is a champion of the feminine powers in all of us!
After seven years as the editorial producer for 20/20, Geralyn became the director of original programming for Lifetime Television. She is a member of Lifetime's Stop Breast Cancer for Life initiative. She, her husband Tyler and daughter Skye (born after her cancer treatments) live in New York City. She is said to never leave home without her lipstick.
As if the wonderfully inspiring story is not reason enough to go out and purchase the book for yourself or someone you love, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to the Young Survival Coalition.
by Lee Ambrose
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
"
~ Written on 2008-03-17
The 27 year old was a graduate from Columbia University School of Journalism and had secured a position as the editorial producer for ABC News' popular 20/20 show. She hadn't bargained for breast cancer to threaten her career, her hopes of becoming a mother, or her life. But that is exactly what happened.
In her poignant and refreshingly honest book, Lucas shares her emotional rollercoaster, her physical ups and downs and her walk through the treatment phases of her disease. Complete with the issues of chemotherapy side effects, reconstructive surgery, and marital strains, this book is gut-wrenchingly honest in its portrayal of a life turned upside down and inside out at the pronouncement of a life-threatening disease. It is also a totally life-affirming reflection on how one woman faced down the monster that is called breast cancer.
From 'victim' to 'survivor' to 'advocate' Geralyn Lucas walks us through the maze of a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. While her focus is on the younger population with this diagnosis, this book is a healthy and honest glimpse into the real world of any woman who is dealing with the disease--and for anyone who is helping her deal with it--at any stage. Newly diagnosed women will be inspired, those going through treatment will nod in agreement, those who are disease free will applaud her work with survivors' groups, and family members will thank her for allowing them to peek into what might be going on inside their own loved one's head during the whole process. Geralyn voices for all women what most women do not dare to admit--their own fear, their vulnerability, their ambivilence.
Readers will cheer when she defiantly yet confidently swipes her lips with lipstick as she prepares to enter the operating room. They will continue to cheer as she returns time and time again to her source of feminine power and courage--her lipstick--to remind her of the hope and promise she carries deep within.
This is a must read for anyone whose life has been touched by breast cancer. Having read many books on the topic, I can honestly say that this is by far, one of the most candid and uplifting. Geralyn has become my heroine for she is a champion of the feminine powers in all of us!
After seven years as the editorial producer for 20/20, Geralyn became the director of original programming for Lifetime Television. She is a member of Lifetime's Stop Breast Cancer for Life initiative. She, her husband Tyler and daughter Skye (born after her cancer treatments) live in New York City. She is said to never leave home without her lipstick.
As if the wonderfully inspiring story is not reason enough to go out and purchase the book for yourself or someone you love, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to the Young Survival Coalition.
by Lee Ambrose
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
"
~ Written on 2008-03-17