On the Subject of Boobs

I try to post something every year for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in honor of the people I’ve loved and lost to the disease. This year is especially bittersweet, as just after I finished this post, I found out a friend has been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Although it’s not breast cancer, it’s a beast in its own right, although her prognosis is excellent. My time today on the blog is especially fitting because my friend loves to read, although she’s more into mystery than humor, and I'm writing about a book I discovered. So, on to the original post.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year, I’d like to post a book recommendation. Not one of mine, mind you, although there are plenty of breasts in my books. No, this is one I found while browsing my latest publisher’s website.

I came across a book titled, ironically, Boobs. I read the description and was immediately intrigued. The title refers not just to the kinds of boobs at risk for cancer, but the kind of boobs who make the main characters on Dumb and Dumber look like rocket scientists. Two brothers, Harlan and Ernie, are pretty much down on their luck until they literally stumble across the wrong buxom woman, who, to teach Harlan a lesson, makes him an offer he can’t refuse. If he gets huge breast implants for thirty days and doesn’t tell anyone why, he wins $100,000. If anyone finds out he did it on a bet or if he doesn’t make it for the whole thirty days, he loses.

Harlan, not being the brightest individual, takes the bet, and his life spirals completely out of control as he walks a mile in someone else’s very large bra. The story is hilarious, yet poignant in a way, and regardless of the title, it’s not about how important breasts are, but how important it is to be who you really are to be happy, no matter what form that takes. As Harlan struggles to keep his dignity and his secret, everyone in his orbit holds on for one of the wildest rides of their lives until they realize that love knows only its own ideal of beauty, not anyone else's.

If you like quick humor and metaphor, you might like Boobs. And even though the title refers more to the main characters' IQs than to a body part, I hope if you do read it, you remember all those dealing with the myriad of issues that cancer brings to their lives, like my friend. People who need a laugh or just a few minutes away from reality that a really good read—no matter what it is—can provide.

So this is yet another post about boobs, those mammary glands that come in all shapes and sizes and that need checked every month—not just during Breast Cancer Awareness Month—to help in the effort to maintain their health and yours.

May you read today, love today, and survive today.

Cameo