Cancer is fucking horrible.

Everyone has been affected by the disease in some way, whether it be personally or through loved ones, and even in cases where the battle against cancer is won, everyone is left with scars from the fight.

When it comes to breast cancer, those scars are often literal, and not just figurative.

I'm not usually one to indulge in memoir and autobiography, but Jennifer Hayden's The Story of My Tits isn't a simple life-story written by a breast cancer survivor. It is, instead, the story of her breasts and how they have shaped her life, literally and figuratively, and of the other breasts—of her mother, her sister, her friends, strangers—that all contribute to her understanding of relationship with society, with her family, and with herself.

The illustrations in the graphic memoir are heavy and packed with information; the aesthetic starkness is information dense, and serves to contextualize, to ground the story in reality despite the occasional foray into the fantastic. It is not the illustration that shines in The Story of My Tits, but instead the dialog, some real and some re-enacted, that truly immerses the reader in Hayden's life.

The scars—literal and figurative—that come from the battles with cancer are presented in all their glory in The Story of My Tits, and while the story is mostly hopeful, in the end a simple message resonates: cancer is fucking horrible.

It's a message we all know, but Hayden reminds us that we can persevere through it, and that we can build on the scars that it leaves in its wake.

(Originally published on inthemargins.ca)

I thoroughly enjoyed this. The characters come across as very real people fumbling, coping, and processing everything that life can throw at them.

Woof. Cancer and parenting and whoa.

A very honest graphic memoir that deals with growing up, love, sex, complicated family relationships, grieving, and illness. It hasn't gotten checked out too much at the library and I think it has to do with the book's title, which some people might find off-putting. It's too bad because I would recommend it for people who have experienced or knows someone who has experienced cancer or serious illness. That said, I wouldn't recommend for individuals who would be offended by sexual content or strong language.

This is a super good graphic novel, not only because it's a good story, even if ok, the illustrations are nothing special, but it's told in such a witty and humorous way that sometimes you can forgot that the main topic is cancer. I would recommend all my friends to read it because it's not important if you had cancer or not, it's not about that, it's about life.

Questa é una bellissima graphic novel, non solo perché la storia é veramente carina (sulle illustrazioni diciamo che....ecco, ti deve piacere il genere), ma soprattutto per il modo in cui é raccontata: ironica, divertente, sarcastica....la maggior parte delle volte mi scordavo che stavo leggendo un libro che parlava di cancro, e non il segno zodiacale. Lo suggeriró a tutti i miei amici, perché non importa se sei o meno un sopravvissuto, l'argomento di questa storia é la vita.

THANKS TO NERTGALLEY AND DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS FOR THE PREVIEW!

I think this book is better if you do not read the back cover. I read it without thought when I was about halfway through it, and was disappointed by the spoiler. I'd rather would've gone on with just knowing the title.

To be safe, do not read any reviews either.