Gross Anatomy

May 7, 2018
Altman (Thanks for Coming) boldly explores parts of her body that are both a source of shame and wonder in this delightfully crass collection of essays. From nipple hair to hemorrhoids, from the evolution of mammalian sex noises to why dogs are frequently drawn to “vag scent,” nothing is off-limits in Altman’s line of interrogation. She manages to keep readers engaged by polishing her bodily exposition with journalistic details, pausing her narrative for interviews with experts on every subject at hand. In one essay, on “copulatory vocalizations,” she consults an evolutionary biologist, two psychologists, a neuroscientist, and an anthropologist. “Maybe if you aren’t busy hollering during sex, you have the space in your brain to develop advanced sensory sensitivity in your vagina,” she posits after a conversation with the neuroscientist. It is this level of research coupled with her unique shade of humor that sets her series of essays apart. Agent: Erin Hosier, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency

July 1, 2018

Though some of the content in this compendium of essays about the most cringe-worthy aspects of living in a female "meat suit" pushes the boundaries, many will find it illuminating and liberating. Young women often have burning questions about why they grow hair here and there, sweat, farting, camel toes, butts, breasts, sex, and PMS and periods, and these 15 confessional essays shed light on many of those hidden parts of one's emotional and physical self. The author's voice is comfortingly confidential, as if unburdening herself to fellow millennials about subjects that often go unaddressed in public discourse. Altman spoke to experts in a variety of fields to clear up confusion about myriad topics. The book winds through mysteries of culture and anatomy via topless bicycle rides in New York City, visits to doctors who perform labiaplasty, and a triumphant stay at a nudist colony. VERDICT Teens who pick this title up will come away with a healthier attitude toward their bodies. An empowering addition for collections willing to offer adolescent patrons materials that are forthright about sexuality and anatomy.-Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
A journalist/author explores the whys and hows of the female body as she confronts the "volatile and apprehensive relationship" she has with her own body parts.Altman (Thanks for Coming: One Young Woman's Quest for an Orgasm, 2009, etc.) grew up with two hippie parents who eschewed all bodily enhancements. Her mother "never wore any image-altering materials" and never shaved; her father "turned his nose up at anything he deemed unnatural," including perfume. This led to the author's hyperawareness of corporeal expectations for women and the nagging sense that she was somehow a misfit. Drawing on research and interviews, Altman considers everything about the female body that society often shames women into hiding. In "The Top Half," the author discusses some of her favorite top-of-the-body fixations, such as body hair and its removal. Her investigations did nothing to cure her of her own depilatory compulsions, but at the same time, they revealed that the reasons behind shaving, waxing, and tweezing were rooted in everything from cultural/patriarchal norms (which equated hairlessness to sensuality) to biology (which equated hairiness to age and infertility). Altman then goes on to ponder other personal issues--e.g., hairy nipples, overactive sweat glands, protruding belly buttons, head lice, and the inability to vocalize sexual pleasure--with which she has struggled. In the second section of the book, "The Bottom Half," Altman considers what inevitably draws dogs to the human vulva, why buttocks, the site of the grossest of all bodily functions, are also "one of the most sexualized parts of the human body," and why society too often maligns features of the female body like labial lips (the so-called "camel toe") and menstruation. By turns neurotically perverse and hilarious, Altman's doodle-illustrated book is not just a memoir of her own quest to embrace physical imperfection. It is also an endearingly outrageous attempt to demystify the female body while shedding light on the causes of female corporeal insecurities.A simultaneously funny and informative memoir about the wonder of the human body.

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July 1, 2018
In her snappy new essay collection, journalist Altman (Thanks for Coming: One Young Woman's Quest for an Orgasm, 2009) dives into some of the most disgusting and unmentionable aspects of the human body, volunteering herself as investigative subject. Though her research is decidedly geared toward female bodies (menstruation, #freethenipple, vaginal discharge), anyone looking to learn more about the underbelly of the human experience will enjoy this. She reached out to doctors, family, and friends to create an extremely informative and personal book, grouped by bodily region. Altman divulges tales of her intimate experiences; an organized, topless bike ride through New York City; her honeymoon in Asia, with head lice; and a special visit, with her mother, to a nudist colony while she was seven months pregnant with twins. For each of her adventures, she includes ample scientific explanation of the bodily function at play. Altman's bottomless curiosity and razor-sharp wit are a perfect match for fans of Mary Roach and everyone frustrated or fascinated by their mysterious vessel of flesh.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)