The Summer of Her Baldness: A Cancer Improvisation (Constructs Series)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.57 (783 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0292702574 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 239 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-10-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Lord has written a page-turner, a wonderfully compelling narrative with a host of fascinating characters in an original voice and with a vibrant, laugh-out-loud wit. Not only is it funny, wise, and moving, it is also thoroughly smart, political, and powerful.” " (David Roman, Professor of English, University of Southern California)
While Lord suffers from unwanted isolation and loss of control as her treatment progresses, Her Baldness talks back to the society that stigmatizes bald women, not to mention middle-aged lesbians with a life-threatening disease.In this irreverent and moving memoir, Lord draws on the e-mail correspondence of Her Baldness to offer an unconventional look at life with breast cancer and the societal space occupied by the seriously ill. She photographs herself and the rooms in which she negotiates her disease. No eyelashes. Propelled into an involuntary performance piece occasioned by the diagnosis of breast cancer, Lord adopted the online persona of Her Baldness—an irascible, witty, polemical presence who speaks candidly about shame and fear to her listserv audience. When it rains the water will run straight down into my eyes," Catherine Lord wrote before her hair fell out during chemotherapy. She details the clash of personalities in support groups, her ambivalence about Western medicine, her struggles to maintain her relationship with her partner, and her bemusement when she is mistaken for a "sir." She uses these experiences—common to the one-in-eight women who will be diagnosed at some point with breast cancer—to illuminate larger issues of gender signifiers, sexuality, and the construction of community.. "No
"Bravo for her baldness!" according to Susan Rankaitis. Catherine Lord has written what may well be the most complex, multi-layered account of the day to day drama, fear, anxiety and exhaustion that are all part of going through a major illness, in this case, breast cancer. Simultaneously full of rage and love, biting wit and medical detail, this book, by a sophisticated art critic and writer, is a must for any woman ( and some men) who desires more specifi. "Baldness unveiled" according to Amelia Jones. Catherine Lord's book exemplifies the move towards a biting, honest cultural criticism that takes its power from its visceral link to personal trauma. Amazingly enough, Lord manages to explore and perform her battle with breast cancer with humor and pathos without lapsing into self-indulgence. This is a deeply moving book but also an instructive one, subtly instructing the reader in essential emotional. Chemotherapy Doesn't Have Anything On Love Robert Summers says: "Catherine Lord went through chemotherapy, and she was radically transformed. We now read the book (the aftermath?), and we go through a different therapy -- in which we become transformed. Indeed, this auto-biography (auto-geo-graphy? auto-topo-logy?) is a book of transformations: it is always at work.Without a doubt, I am deeply thankful to Lord for generously performing the deta
CATHERINE LORD is Professor of Studio Art at the University of California at Irvine.