Review: Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front

Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front by Mara Altman
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

I was on the fence about whether this book's ongoing takes are funny neurotic or just reinforcing how much we, as women, can be filled with self-loathing body image issues. From head (and hair) to toe (and hair, and warts) Altman covers many ways women beat (or carve) themselves up. I'm still not sure how I feel about the book, although some portions of it made me laugh out loud. With tones of Mindy Kaling, Mary Roach and a dash of Chelsea Handler, Altman offers up a variety of anecdotes and observations but the sum of them just made me feel sad about everything women will put themselves (the labiaplasty section was especially a painful read) through to feel "okay." The humor here isn't enough to remove the sting of how hard it is for women to feel at home in their own bodies as they are.

I received a Digital Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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