It's My Body:
and I'll Cry
If I Want To
by
Sharleen Jonasson
Beth Middleton has a lot
going on in her life, it's just that none of it is really
going all that well. Beth's marriage is over, her career
as an investigative journalist is in the dumpster, and
her 14-year-old daughter, Paige, is in that experimental
and non-communicative age all parents of 14-year-olds
know all too well.
Beth is
not all that enthusiastic when approached about an
undercover assignment that involves infiltrating a posh
beauty spa to uncover their top secret, state-of-the-art
new treatment. The organization wanting to hire her, PUS
(Perceived Ugliness Syndrome), is working to show how the
entire beauty industry plays on women's insecurities to
brainwash them into believing they must achieve an
elusive perfection (through the use of their products, of
course) in order to be at their best.
"Since
puberty had I ever touched my naked body without
acknowledging its failings? Yes, I know this is wrong,
that is wrong, I'd say to myself. As if someone could
see into my mind, some witness ready to scorn me for
not observing what was there for all to see. Better
not forget even to think about the fact that my ass
was too big/wide/droopy/dimply, my breasts too small/big/oval/pointed,
my abdomen too round/wrinkled, my thighs too wide...
I could never be even in the most private of spaces
without apologizing. Apologizing to who, anyway?"
Average
in looks and size, Beth enters the spa and begins a
period of coming to terms with her own insecurities while
juggling what is going on with her daughter.
Women
of all sizes will empathize with what Beth is going
through. Written with intelligence and a great sense of
humor, "It's My Body," without being
preachy or strident, will get you to thinking about your
attitudes toward your own body and the effect media has
on it.
This is
a fun book with great characters. Grab a copy and settle
in for some thought provoking reading.
