Literary Anatomies Women's Bodies and Health in Literature
This book shows how imaginative literature brings womens medical experiences back to lived moments in living bodies, where readers can, perhaps, better understand what it feels like to be someone else. The authors provide four sections that discuss birth, abortion, miscarriage, and fertility; breast cancer; middle age, menopause, and hysterectomy; and aging. While the focus is on twentieth-century North American women, a particular emphasis is placed on the diversity of womens experiences within that time and culture.