Reconstructing Aphrodite

Presenting the images and stories of women whose lives have been transformed after breast cancer, this volume offers a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. These survivors are examples of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966035232
• ISBN13: 9780966035230
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

beautiful and helpful, yet what about those women who still need help, and can't find it?

sometimes, the reconstruction goes well, the surgeon was kindly and skilled, and the women go on "to live fully"....what is missing everywhere i search, are the stories, the pictures, and the advice for women whose after-reconstruction stories aren't as graceful as what we find inside the covers of this book.....i wanted to write this review, as i am one of the unlucky women...one who suffers, and is fighting the medical and insurance establishments while in pain 24/7, and still waiting for my own healing after the nightmare of a drive-through bilateral mastectomy....i feel like any woman who sees this book should know there is another, darker side to this process....and very little assistance if things go wrong. kathie larsyn M.Ed., M.C.

A must for survivors

I was diagnosed this past May, at age 41, with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and immediately began the reconstruction process of tissue expander and silicone implant. I saw this book in my reconstructive surgeon's office and it just floored me. The women presented are simply beautiful, and their joy leaps out of each photograph. I'm hoping someone gives me this book for Christmas (hint, hint).

Transcendent beauty

As a woman who has had breast cancer and is looking at bilateral reconstruction, I found "Reconstructing Aphrodite" to be a book of hope, life, and beauty. The beauty is not in reconstruction without scars but is in the very scars themselves, scars that speak of courage, determination and, above all else, the choice to live life to the fullest. The reflections accompanying each photo communicate the pain of living with cancer. But the stories do not stop with pain; they continue with love, laughter, celebration, joy and delight in bodies that have more to say now than when they were flawless. A truly exquisite book in all ways, one that I will share with many other women because it is so real. The scars are not airbrushed; the pain is not denied. I came away from this book uplifted and encouraged by the lived experience of my sisters on the journey with breast cancer. Forget "Playboy"; the women who have lasting beauty are the ones in this book.

Heartfelt and inspiring

You might think that because you haven't had breast cancer, or because you're a man, that you have nothing to learn from the aptly named book Reconstructing Aphrodite. But you'd be wrong. This collection of photographs and stories of women who've had reconstructive breast surgery following diagnoses of cancer is mesmerizing and inspiring. Each woman tells her own story, sensitively edited by Helga Hayse, revealing her fears, apprehension, decisiveness, and courage. Each story resonates with everyone who encounters this book.The stories they tell-of genetic testing, of tumors missed in mammograms, of watching mothers and aunts die painful deaths-speak to all of us. They are funny and brave, practical and spiritual. These are mothers and daughters and sisters, young and old, and they are all the women we know. They are sharing a life-shattering experience with us and to read their words is to be a witness to their strength.And as much as the stories move us, the photographs shock and amaze. The photographs, from photographer Terry Lorant, feel like personal notes from each woman to the reader. As if she were a friend, sending you her proud news. The pictures are sweet and sexy and honest and very emotional. I read this entire book, including the detailed information about breast reconstruction at the end. Because, though I don't have breast cancer now, that doesn't mean my sisters or I won't be diagnosed in the future and I'd like to have both the practical resource information that this book provides and the inspiration of these amazing women.

Heartfelt Reactions

I received this beautiful book as a gift, and was affected by it on many levels, in many ways. The photos and the stories told by these women are about shock, fear, intense questioning, bravery, and the profound desire to live a full life. I looked through and saw for the first time women with radical changes to their bodies, surgeries that had saved their lives and restored their peace of mind. I had never seen what reconstructive surgery could do (aside from those picture perfect breasts implants of the young and famous). I was seeing for the first time women whose breasts clearly showed the work of a skilled surgeon, whose scars were still there, of course, but were testimony to the fears and concerns these women had to deal with when they discovered their bodies had become diseased, their lives at risk and in question. Each of the photos is a portrait of solemnity, joy, pride in the beauty of these new and healthy breasts. Each story seems to say, I've chosen to live a full and healthy life, and the beauty of my body bears the marks of that tremendous decision."Reconstructing Ahprodite" is about living fully.