Gross Anatomy

 Book 78 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from August 5 - 14

Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front (and Back)

by Mara Altman

Summary (via the book jacket)

Mara Altman's volatile and apprehensive relationship with her body has led her to wonder about a lot of stuff over the years. Like who decided that women shouldn't have body hair? And how sweaty is too sweaty? Also, why is breast cleavage sexy but camel toe revolting? Isn't it all just cleavage? These questions and others like them have led to the comforting and sometimes smelly revelations that constitute Gross Anatomy, an essay collection about what it's like to operate the bags of meat we call our bodies.

Divided into two sections, "The Top Half" and "The Bottom Half", with cartoons scattered throughout, Altman's book takes the reader on a wild and relatable journey from head to toe - as she attempts to strike up a peace accord with our goody bits.

With a combination of personal anecdotes and fascinating research, Gross Anatomy holds up a magnifying glass to our beliefs, practices, biases, and body parts and shows us the naked truth: that there is greatness in our grossness.

My Opinion

3 stars

This book hit a good balance between personal story and research.  As always with these random sort of topics, I'm amazed there are experts devoting research to the most seemingly obscure things.