Ladyparts

A Memoir

De: Deborah Copaken

Narrado por: Deborah Copaken

A frank, witty, and dazzlingly written memoir of one woman trying to keep it together while her body falls apart — from the “brilliant mind” (Michaela Coel, creator of I May Destroy You) behind Shutterbabe

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by Real Simple • “The most laugh-out-loud story of resilience you’ll ever read and an essential road map for the importance of narrative as a tool of healing.” (Lori Gottlieb, best-selling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone)

I’m crawling around on the bathroom floor, picking up pieces of myself. These pieces are not a metaphor. They are actual pieces.

Twenty years after her iconic memoir Shutterbabe, Deborah Copaken is at her darkly comedic nadir: battered, broke, divorcing, dissected, and dying — literally — on sexism’s battlefield as she scoops up what she believes to be her internal organs into a glass container before heading off to the hospital...in an UberPool.

Ladyparts is Copaken’s irreverent inventory of both the female body and the body politic of womanhood in America, the story of one woman brought to her knees by the one-two-twelve punch of divorce, solo motherhood, healthcare Frogger, unaffordable childcare, shady landlords, her father’s death, college tuitions, sexual harassment, corporate indifference, ageism, sexism, and plain old bad luck. Plus seven serious illnesses, one atop the other, which provide the book’s narrative skeleton: vagina, uterus, breast, heart, cervix, brain, and lungs. Copaken bounces back from each bum body part, finds workarounds for every setback — she transforms her home into a commune to pay rent, sells her soul for health insurance, turns FBI informant when her sexual harasser gets a presidential appointment — but in her slippery struggle to survive a steep plunge off the middle-class ladder, she is suddenly awoken to what it means to have no safety net.

Side-splittingly funny one minute, a freak horror show the next, quintessentially American throughout, Ladyparts is an era-defining memoir.

©2021 Deborah Copaken (P)2021 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The most laugh-out-loud story of resilience you’ll ever read and an essential road map for the importance of narrative as a tool of healing: How we tell our stories is just as important - if not more so - as the plot twists we experience.” (Lori Gottlieb, best-selling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone)

“Ladyparts is, quite simply, a beautiful book. Equal part harrowing and hilarious, enraging and heartwarming, it’s a memoir unlike any other. It will open your eyes to what it means to be female in a male world, older in a society built around youth worship - or just on the wrong side of variance when the lottery of genes and life doesn’t turn in your favor. And it will do it all while making you laugh, cry, and scream in turn. I couldn’t put it down.” (Maria Konnikova, The New York Times best-selling author of The Biggest Bluff and The Confidence Game)

“Ladyparts is a first-rate example of the contemporary memoir: harrowing, sad, funny, revelatory, true. Were you to misconstrue the title, you might think this was all simply anatomy, which would be fine, but as with all the best memoirs what this work really anatomizes is how it all feels - in the mind, in the soul, and in the nick of time. Copaken’s memoir is poignant, necessary, and very rewarding.” (Rick Moody, author of The Long Accomplishment: A Memoir of Hope and Struggle in Matrimony)

An important, “must read” that’s manages to be funny and relatable

I don’t think it’s possible to succinctly explain how much, and why, I loved this book. Copaken manages to draw a line connecting U.S. deficits in understanding mental health, women’s bodies, healthcare, child care, workplace ethics (including sex/gender/ and economic status discrimination), work-life balance and more. She does all of this with empathy, compassion, brutal self-deprecating honesty, humor and intelligence. She says all of the ugly uncomfortable things most of us are too afraid to say. Her raw humanity is remarkable. I rarely do this but I may actually read this book again.

Didn’t want it to end. Going to go try to find the original ending on the authors blog page now!

As always Deborah’s writing is beautiful and easy to hear while being honest and humourous at times. I loved it. I read Shutterbabe in my 20s and it changed me and now listened to Ladyparts in my 50s. Highly recommend both!

Her depth of honesty was brillant

I fortunately listened to this book instead of reading it (though I am certain I would have loved it too in its written form). But to hear Deborah tell her own story was amazing. I could hear her angst, her bewilderment, her rage, her love personified with every word. If it was a work of fiction I might be in disbelief that any human could have the health issues she has had and survived, much less the financial struggles that she has overcome. I thought of the Biblical Job whose faith is tested with challenges. What Deborah overcame is breathtaking in its scope and intensity. After finishing this book, I have gotten the courage to be even more honest in my emails to my friends and family about my own journey with Stage IV cancer. Deborah has inspired me. I thank her for that. You go girl!!

Excellent story and excellent delivery!

Deborah is a born storyteller and I thoroughly enjoyed her sharing her skills and story in this book -- it was like sitting down with a very good friend and hearing what has been going on in their crazy, hectic life. I related to so much of what she has gone through as a woman, I was shouting along with her as she described her experiences and emotions, especially the frustration with "modern" healthcare and the health insurance dance. It was an extra special treat to hear her talk about meeting Nora Ephron, one of my all-time favorites, and what it was like to be close friends with her. I was sad when I reached the end, and look forward to any future work she releases.

Whoa!

The author really bared it all. A raw and well-written portrayal of a woman just trying to achieve that promise of the American dream by following all the rules. Not pie in the sky dreams, but basic health and financial stability for her family. The audiobook was well done and easy to listen to. I gasped multiple times, while hearing the trials and tribulations that she reveals.

What a journey!

I loved the authors narration of her work. It brings such real, visceral character as you're listening in. I thoroughly enjoyed! I was in a meeting recently and was asked a personality-type question...the question was what was the last book I read, or what was I currently reading. I chuckled, and said proudly... "Ladyparts"... I needed a pep talk on my way downtown and Deb's voice was a reaffirming voice of sound, sage, tangible advice. ☆☆☆☆☆

A literal must read.

As a 65 year old self proclaimed feminist growing more radical with age, I was gobsmacked more often than I care to admit. Wonderful work. Should be studied in every college women’s studies courses.

Wow. Incredible story, writing and performance.

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read/listened to. It’s real and raw and very well written. I also really enjoyed the author reading it aloud. It was hilarious, informative, heartbreaking and entertaining. I loved how long it was because I didn’t want it to end. I plan on buying more of her books. I recommend this book to everyone.

Lovely. Poignant. Relevant. Timely.

Such an amazing book. Every man should listen to it. Kept me engrossed from end to end.

I needed this book

This was exactly the story I needed - I am, in theory, a middle class woman. I don’t even have kids! And yet, the financial struggles, the health struggles, the fear of having everything yanked away? Deborah articulated all of it. She made me feel seen, and her performance of the book was incredible.

My first impulse after listening to all of it - during every break from work, while renovating the house I can barely afford, while walking the dog and feeding the cats - is to read everything she’s written and to figure out how she can be my friend.

Should she ever see this review, I want to just tell her, simply, thank you.