Review: Ladyparts by Deborah Copaken
Ladyparts by Deborah Copaken (yes, she has a substack) is a memoir recommended to me by Poet and Publisher Courtney LeBlanc (if you haven’t read her work, don’t wait). Copaken is a former photojournalist who has written for corporations, marketing companies, newspapers, and so many other venues. Why haven’t I heard of her? Probably because I live in a poetry cave.
However, now that I know her writing — which is so darkly humorous — and how she approaches real-world struggle, irreverently, I might just have to go read some of her other books and articles.
But you really came her for a review.
I absolutely loved this book. Is it about the negative medical experiences she has had — yes. Is it about how bodies begin falling apart, especially female bodies, after a certain age — yes. If you get grossed out easily by bodily functions and disfunctions, I don’t care, read this anyway.
We all know the health care complex is shit. We all know it costs too much to care for our families even with health insurance and when we are healthy, but if you are experiencing medical bills that should frighten a small country, know this: you are not alone. Copaken will share all of her freelance writer, no health insurance drama with you, while looking for work, being harassed by a potential employer, undergoing major life changes, and caring for her young son.
Is that enough to have on your plate? Clearly not, let’s throw in some dating with apps and some Hollywood-related chicanery for good measure.
Ladyparts by Deborah Copaken is one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a long time. While it may depress you, you will feel like you have someone who understands your pain. As a writer with a life-sucking corporate job to have health insurance and pay my bills, I complete understood where she was coming from. I felt all of that anxiety and it’s part of the reason I’m not braver about freelance. I can’t afford to be.
RATING: Cinquain
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