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Flat: Reclaiming My Body from Breast Cancer
"A darn good read .” —Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and New York Times bestselling author
A feminist breast cancer memoir of medical trauma, love, and how she found the strength to listen to her body.
As a young, queer woman, Catherine Guthrie had worked hard to feel at home in her body. However, after years writing about women’s health and breast cancer, Guthrie is thrust into the role of the patient after a devastating diagnosis at age thirty-eight. At least , she thinks, I know what I'm up against .
She was wrong. In one horrifying moment after another, everything that could go wrong does—the surgeon gives her a double mastectomy but misses the cancerous lump, one of the most effective drug treatments fails, and a doctor's error may have unleashed millions of breast cancer cells into her body.
Flat is Guthrie’s story of how two bouts of breast cancer shook her faith in her body, her relationship, and medicine. Along the way, she challenges the view that breasts are essential to femininity and paramount to a woman’s happiness. Ultimately, she traces an intimate portrayal of how cancer reshapes her relationship with Mary, her partner, revealing—in the midst of crisis—a love story.
Filled with candor, vulnerability, and resilience, Guthrie upends the “pink ribbon” narrative and offers a unique perspective on womanhood, what it means to be “whole,” and the importance of women advocating for their desires. Flat is a story about how she found the strength to forge an unconventional path—one of listening to her body—that she’d been on all along.
A feminist breast cancer memoir of medical trauma, love, and how she found the strength to listen to her body.
As a young, queer woman, Catherine Guthrie had worked hard to feel at home in her body. However, after years writing about women’s health and breast cancer, Guthrie is thrust into the role of the patient after a devastating diagnosis at age thirty-eight. At least , she thinks, I know what I'm up against .
She was wrong. In one horrifying moment after another, everything that could go wrong does—the surgeon gives her a double mastectomy but misses the cancerous lump, one of the most effective drug treatments fails, and a doctor's error may have unleashed millions of breast cancer cells into her body.
Flat is Guthrie’s story of how two bouts of breast cancer shook her faith in her body, her relationship, and medicine. Along the way, she challenges the view that breasts are essential to femininity and paramount to a woman’s happiness. Ultimately, she traces an intimate portrayal of how cancer reshapes her relationship with Mary, her partner, revealing—in the midst of crisis—a love story.
Filled with candor, vulnerability, and resilience, Guthrie upends the “pink ribbon” narrative and offers a unique perspective on womanhood, what it means to be “whole,” and the importance of women advocating for their desires. Flat is a story about how she found the strength to forge an unconventional path—one of listening to her body—that she’d been on all along.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2018
20 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
February 3, 2020
I read this book after I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and was going through my chemo treatments. I was in the middle of six months of chemo treatments before I would have my double mastectomy and I needed to determine if I wanted to stay flat or get reconstruction. This book helped me come to my decision to stay flat. I found it to be extremely informative with grace and humor. I have since had my surgery and do not regret staying flat and fabulous.
September 13, 2018
This book is a must for anyone who has dealt with a life threatening illness. Guthrie, a nationally known health journalist writes about the topic of breast cancer in a way rarely addressed. The book is honest, non "pinkified" raw, and just beautifully written with a voice and story I did not want to part with when I finished the book. Guthrie also talks about reconstruction and her own decision to stay "flat". To my surprise, this decision is not as rare as one might think based on how little it is talked about. I loved this book and was moved by it in so many ways-- an essential read.
September 25, 2018
Catherine Guthrie's FLAT invites us, not only into the intimate space of illness and the journey of her breast cancer experience, but also into her relationships with her partner, her family and her body. We get to see how she learned to love the skin she lives in and how meeting a woman—a community of women—in San Francisco helped her to regard the female form as sacred, sensual, strong. Then we get to see how the medical field views the female body and how, in many cases, it fails to see the individual human behind the curved parts of us thought to makes us whole people.
FLAT is honest, eye-opening and beautifully written. It's also intelligent and has the humor of a survivor who is also a health journalist with insight into a world that most of us don’t. Catherine's humor is earned, she gets to laugh, she’s alive. This is her story to tell. And she tells it with admirable grace.
In reading FLAT, I also thought that this is a book that should be taught in all memoir programs. It’s a teaching book in so many ways. The straightforward and insightful writing is a lesson in craft that many students of the genre would find helpful
Everyone should read FLAT.
FLAT is honest, eye-opening and beautifully written. It's also intelligent and has the humor of a survivor who is also a health journalist with insight into a world that most of us don’t. Catherine's humor is earned, she gets to laugh, she’s alive. This is her story to tell. And she tells it with admirable grace.
In reading FLAT, I also thought that this is a book that should be taught in all memoir programs. It’s a teaching book in so many ways. The straightforward and insightful writing is a lesson in craft that many students of the genre would find helpful
Everyone should read FLAT.
October 26, 2018
One of the parts of this book that really stuck with me was the way the character figured she was safe from breast cancer by following a healthy lifestyle. This point of view was quite poignant and made me think about my relationship to my health, mortality, and body. A green smoothie won't save us--but read this book. It provides a real, compassionate, and very funny account of relationships--to a body and a partner and an illness, and a dog that I felt lucky to have shared by reading.
August 10, 2018
Check out this review and others on my blog: https://thriftybibliophile.com
FLAT by Catherine Guthrie is a stunningly raw cancer memoir. When Guthrie is diagnosed with cancer in her late-30s, she has a tough decision to make. Does she do reconstruction? Go flat? Use prosthetic breasts? In the end, she decides to go flat. This memoir shares her story--her cancer journey--and how cancer affected her relationships, self-image, and her faith in the medical system.
Cancer memoirs are always hard to read, and I've read several. On one hand, I always feel like a voyeur, viewing the grimness of someone else's life through my healthy, rose-tinted glasses. On the other hand, cancer runs rampant in my family, so it's only a matter of time before it hits closer to home than extended relatives. I'm in my early 30s, and I've had two mammograms and two ultrasounds to check out suspect lumps. While both lumps have been negative, I understand the fear and panic of the not knowing--the ultimate question of, is this lump benign, or is trying to kill me?
FLAT was a wonderful memoir--beautifully written and easily read in a single sitting. It's raw, real, and hides nothing. Guthrie leaves herself bare as she discusses how cancer made her feel during those first days, the missed lump, and the physician's critical mistake. Her cancer journey was not short, and she actively battled the disease for over two years. With those years behind her, she continues lives in wait, not knowing if cancer will make a reappearance or if it's gone forever.
Throughout her journey, her partner, Mary, was by her side. Mary is the partner everyone could hope to have in a life or death situation. She's calm, patient, and unfailing in her love and support as Guthrie made peace with her diagnosis. I fell in love with their love story as I read this memoir.
What I liked best about this memoir is that it showed the good and bad. Guthrie did not sugar coat anything, and shared the range of emotions she experienced during those early days. Depression, joy, heart-ache, hope--all of those emotions radiated from the pages as I read.
While this book wouldn't appeal to everyone, if you enjoy memoirs, I highly recommend you check this book out!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
FLAT by Catherine Guthrie is a stunningly raw cancer memoir. When Guthrie is diagnosed with cancer in her late-30s, she has a tough decision to make. Does she do reconstruction? Go flat? Use prosthetic breasts? In the end, she decides to go flat. This memoir shares her story--her cancer journey--and how cancer affected her relationships, self-image, and her faith in the medical system.
Cancer memoirs are always hard to read, and I've read several. On one hand, I always feel like a voyeur, viewing the grimness of someone else's life through my healthy, rose-tinted glasses. On the other hand, cancer runs rampant in my family, so it's only a matter of time before it hits closer to home than extended relatives. I'm in my early 30s, and I've had two mammograms and two ultrasounds to check out suspect lumps. While both lumps have been negative, I understand the fear and panic of the not knowing--the ultimate question of, is this lump benign, or is trying to kill me?
FLAT was a wonderful memoir--beautifully written and easily read in a single sitting. It's raw, real, and hides nothing. Guthrie leaves herself bare as she discusses how cancer made her feel during those first days, the missed lump, and the physician's critical mistake. Her cancer journey was not short, and she actively battled the disease for over two years. With those years behind her, she continues lives in wait, not knowing if cancer will make a reappearance or if it's gone forever.
Throughout her journey, her partner, Mary, was by her side. Mary is the partner everyone could hope to have in a life or death situation. She's calm, patient, and unfailing in her love and support as Guthrie made peace with her diagnosis. I fell in love with their love story as I read this memoir.
What I liked best about this memoir is that it showed the good and bad. Guthrie did not sugar coat anything, and shared the range of emotions she experienced during those early days. Depression, joy, heart-ache, hope--all of those emotions radiated from the pages as I read.
While this book wouldn't appeal to everyone, if you enjoy memoirs, I highly recommend you check this book out!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 19, 2018
Not personally one for fiction, upon arrival at any bookstore, I move strait to the Autobiography/Memoir section where I now hope to find, sitting proudly on a shelf with its entire face forward, FLAT by Catherine Guthrie.
At first glance I was put off by the subtitle explaining this book’s subject is breast cancer. Although FLAT evolves around Catherine Guthrie’s diagnosis and cancer treatment, this book is about so much more.
Within reading the first few pages I felt like I had crept down the hall, slowly opened the door and walked in on a couple’s most beautifully intimate relationship. Feeling like an intruder but not wanting to leave, I got so comfortable that I found myself over-and-over in this couples life. I sat with them in the car and on the sofa in the living room and didn’t want to leave.
The star of this book (and whom you find it is dedicated to) is Catherine’s partner, Mary. What a wonderful love story. You begin to see that the details of their lives play out as “relationship goals”. Frankly, everyone needs a Mary. If there is any lesson besides having someone on your side through a difficult illness, it is, regardless of the doctor you are dealing with, be your own medical advocate. From the beginning right to the end you are forever grateful to have been allowed this little slice of who they are.
During the beginning of the book, the author outlines her frustrations of being a health and wellness journalist, unable to fulfill her goal of writing meaningful medical content that would some day change people’s lives. Is it ironic that she ends up suffering the fate of those she wishes to help educate? One is left to wonder if perhaps the patronizing words “meant to be” are coming into play. Truth be told, Catherine’s journalism in several magazines since her diagnosis have done just that. I had personally happened upon one such article that changed the course of my own medical decisions (hence being one of a handful of people who got a publisher’s copy of FLAT).
If there were a book that anyone dealing with breast cancer (patients, doctors, nurses and medical workers) were encouraged to read, I would beg FLAT to be mandatory. Catherine's book relays all that is so misunderstood on what “breasts” mean to the person suffering from this disease. As someone who has had breast cancer, I felt I understood myself even more after reading it.
In the last several years, “going flat,” bucking the norms of reconstruction and the wearing of bras with prosthesis after mastectomy, has become a slow but growing movement in the breast cancer community. For every such movement there is a book that tends to personify and encompass the feelings of many. I don’t think I am making an overstatement that FLAT may be this movement’s book. Can I even be as bold to say it may be seen as its bible? Yes, I believe so!
For all those women who are taking strides in paving the way for the next generation of breast cancer survivors who are reclaiming there bodies, I see at the forefront Catherine Guthrie with her book FLAT held high. Let this be more than just a book. FLAT is her battle cry!
At first glance I was put off by the subtitle explaining this book’s subject is breast cancer. Although FLAT evolves around Catherine Guthrie’s diagnosis and cancer treatment, this book is about so much more.
Within reading the first few pages I felt like I had crept down the hall, slowly opened the door and walked in on a couple’s most beautifully intimate relationship. Feeling like an intruder but not wanting to leave, I got so comfortable that I found myself over-and-over in this couples life. I sat with them in the car and on the sofa in the living room and didn’t want to leave.
The star of this book (and whom you find it is dedicated to) is Catherine’s partner, Mary. What a wonderful love story. You begin to see that the details of their lives play out as “relationship goals”. Frankly, everyone needs a Mary. If there is any lesson besides having someone on your side through a difficult illness, it is, regardless of the doctor you are dealing with, be your own medical advocate. From the beginning right to the end you are forever grateful to have been allowed this little slice of who they are.
During the beginning of the book, the author outlines her frustrations of being a health and wellness journalist, unable to fulfill her goal of writing meaningful medical content that would some day change people’s lives. Is it ironic that she ends up suffering the fate of those she wishes to help educate? One is left to wonder if perhaps the patronizing words “meant to be” are coming into play. Truth be told, Catherine’s journalism in several magazines since her diagnosis have done just that. I had personally happened upon one such article that changed the course of my own medical decisions (hence being one of a handful of people who got a publisher’s copy of FLAT).
If there were a book that anyone dealing with breast cancer (patients, doctors, nurses and medical workers) were encouraged to read, I would beg FLAT to be mandatory. Catherine's book relays all that is so misunderstood on what “breasts” mean to the person suffering from this disease. As someone who has had breast cancer, I felt I understood myself even more after reading it.
In the last several years, “going flat,” bucking the norms of reconstruction and the wearing of bras with prosthesis after mastectomy, has become a slow but growing movement in the breast cancer community. For every such movement there is a book that tends to personify and encompass the feelings of many. I don’t think I am making an overstatement that FLAT may be this movement’s book. Can I even be as bold to say it may be seen as its bible? Yes, I believe so!
For all those women who are taking strides in paving the way for the next generation of breast cancer survivors who are reclaiming there bodies, I see at the forefront Catherine Guthrie with her book FLAT held high. Let this be more than just a book. FLAT is her battle cry!
April 27, 2020
I loved this book but didn't exactly start out with that attitude, so if you don't quite fall for it immediately, I'd encourage you to give it a little more time.
What made it so captivating to me:
- discussion of breast cancer and its effects not just from a feminist view, and not just from a queer view, and not just from a medically- and scientifically-informed writer, but ALSO from a non-male view. And what I mean by that is that there is simply not consideration of the male gaze (except for informative and understandable discussion of homophobia sprinkled throughout).
The author points out all of the assumptions that women will "want" to conform to society's view of what a woman's body should look like, to "take advantage" of the opportunity to "improve" their breasts, and to be skinny at all costs. The author discusses where this is and isn't applicable to her, and the costs on her time and psyche.
- presentation of the Midwest as specific. The discussion of Martinsville was bone chilling, but I adored the description of Thanksgivings in Kentucky state parks :)
- evaluation of the pinkifying of breast cancer and changes in women's magazines' focus - this was not heavy-handed but thoughtful and considerate, and the author considers her prior view on the topics before she herself had experienced breast cancer.
- the hierarchy of people diagnosed with breast cancer.
- and honestly, the twist in the middle of the book that truly made me gasp. I wasn't expecting anything I would consider a "spoiler" in a medical memoir, but I certainly consider it that. It made me think of how common this must be and how often it would be untraceable. The author's coverage of her doctor's reaction, and her interactions with the doctor, were fascinating.
What made it so captivating to me:
- discussion of breast cancer and its effects not just from a feminist view, and not just from a queer view, and not just from a medically- and scientifically-informed writer, but ALSO from a non-male view. And what I mean by that is that there is simply not consideration of the male gaze (except for informative and understandable discussion of homophobia sprinkled throughout).
The author points out all of the assumptions that women will "want" to conform to society's view of what a woman's body should look like, to "take advantage" of the opportunity to "improve" their breasts, and to be skinny at all costs. The author discusses where this is and isn't applicable to her, and the costs on her time and psyche.
- presentation of the Midwest as specific. The discussion of Martinsville was bone chilling, but I adored the description of Thanksgivings in Kentucky state parks :)
- evaluation of the pinkifying of breast cancer and changes in women's magazines' focus - this was not heavy-handed but thoughtful and considerate, and the author considers her prior view on the topics before she herself had experienced breast cancer.
- the hierarchy of people diagnosed with breast cancer.
- and honestly, the twist in the middle of the book that truly made me gasp. I wasn't expecting anything I would consider a "spoiler" in a medical memoir, but I certainly consider it that. It made me think of how common this must be and how often it would be untraceable. The author's coverage of her doctor's reaction, and her interactions with the doctor, were fascinating.
March 6, 2024
I read this book in three sittings within 24 hours during recovery from a double mastectomy. My diagnosis and care plan differ from the author's, but it was a relief to read about so many similarities to my emotional and physical experience with cancer thus far.
Guthrie's exasperation with and failure to relate to upbeat patients who call themselves warriors against disease feels both familiar and absolving. I can also fully relate to what she describes as a "well of loneliness that broke open inside," for the status of suffering includes both chosen and situational isolation.
Beginning with page 92, I marked dozens of passages. Here are a few that profoundly resonate:
"God knows being around me was a downer. I would have jumped at the chance to take a vacation from myself. Mary was strapped in beside me on the cancer rollercoaster but without any of the support and attention..."
"Chemo's effects were often described as 'accelerated aging'... Now, my muscles were atrophied, my skin was sallow, and my stamina was at rock bottom....With every passing day, my previous identity as a healthy, independent person drifted further away."
"...once the lethargy and wooziness passed...I expected to feel a sense of accomplishment. A sense that I'd endured the unendurable...I felt lost. A stranger in my body and unrecognizable in my relationship..."
"Losing my body's estrogen was, in many ways, more difficult...losing my sense of who I was on the inside was deeply unsettling."
"My joints swelled and ached. After sitting, I struggled to stand...my hands turned into claws..."
"We'll try to angle the beam around your heart but there are no guarantees. Some collateral damage is inevitable...For this reason, the radiation seemed more insidious than chemotherapy. The side effects felt more dire...radiation can make the body more vulnerable to future cancer diagnoses."
And here is a fact that I haven't been able to get out of my head for seven months, as I try in futility to determine when the fatigue began and what other sensations were signals that cancer had made a home in my body: "By the time it's palpable, most lumps have been growing for up to a decade."
Guthrie's exasperation with and failure to relate to upbeat patients who call themselves warriors against disease feels both familiar and absolving. I can also fully relate to what she describes as a "well of loneliness that broke open inside," for the status of suffering includes both chosen and situational isolation.
Beginning with page 92, I marked dozens of passages. Here are a few that profoundly resonate:
"God knows being around me was a downer. I would have jumped at the chance to take a vacation from myself. Mary was strapped in beside me on the cancer rollercoaster but without any of the support and attention..."
"Chemo's effects were often described as 'accelerated aging'... Now, my muscles were atrophied, my skin was sallow, and my stamina was at rock bottom....With every passing day, my previous identity as a healthy, independent person drifted further away."
"...once the lethargy and wooziness passed...I expected to feel a sense of accomplishment. A sense that I'd endured the unendurable...I felt lost. A stranger in my body and unrecognizable in my relationship..."
"Losing my body's estrogen was, in many ways, more difficult...losing my sense of who I was on the inside was deeply unsettling."
"My joints swelled and ached. After sitting, I struggled to stand...my hands turned into claws..."
"We'll try to angle the beam around your heart but there are no guarantees. Some collateral damage is inevitable...For this reason, the radiation seemed more insidious than chemotherapy. The side effects felt more dire...radiation can make the body more vulnerable to future cancer diagnoses."
And here is a fact that I haven't been able to get out of my head for seven months, as I try in futility to determine when the fatigue began and what other sensations were signals that cancer had made a home in my body: "By the time it's palpable, most lumps have been growing for up to a decade."
October 31, 2018
A disclaimer: I've had dinner with Catherine a few times when we both lived in Indiana. We're both health writers and are friends on Facebook. Even before meeting Catherine in person, I always thought highly of the way she made complex medical stories easy to understand and read.
By definition, reading someone's memoir is a voyeuristic endeavor. I think Flat is the first memoir I've read where I knew the author, so it felt even more like an intimate peek into Catherine's world. Not surprisingly, she writes about her personal life with the same eloquence and gift for language that I've always found so admirable in her other writings.
Having been to Bloomington several times (where Catherine and Mary lived during Catherine's diagnosis and treatment time), I thought she did a great job describing the city, the university and the people who live there. She also captures what it's like being a queer couple living in the Bible belt (and I thought it was hard living there as an atheist). She's very candid about how her cancer diagnosis (and the problems following treatment -- being vague here so there are no spoilers) permeate every aspect of her life. This is a powerfully well-told story.
By definition, reading someone's memoir is a voyeuristic endeavor. I think Flat is the first memoir I've read where I knew the author, so it felt even more like an intimate peek into Catherine's world. Not surprisingly, she writes about her personal life with the same eloquence and gift for language that I've always found so admirable in her other writings.
Having been to Bloomington several times (where Catherine and Mary lived during Catherine's diagnosis and treatment time), I thought she did a great job describing the city, the university and the people who live there. She also captures what it's like being a queer couple living in the Bible belt (and I thought it was hard living there as an atheist). She's very candid about how her cancer diagnosis (and the problems following treatment -- being vague here so there are no spoilers) permeate every aspect of her life. This is a powerfully well-told story.
September 27, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley, Skyhorse Publishing and Catherine Guthrie for an ARC ebook copy for review. As always, an honest review from me.
My honest to goodness first thoughts were something along the lines of, well this will be a depressing read. And in some ways it is. Cancer sucks. But the book is also educating, validating, inspiring, harrowing, and thought provoking. The intersection of medicine, feminism, and the LGBTQIA+ community is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Her story fills a gap of information and experiences that’s not discussed in the world of pink on pink on pink of breast cancer.
Flat gives a voice to women who choose not to have reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy. At first thought it seems like such a radical idea, but after reading I’ve become so much more educated the autonomy that women should have over their own bodies, especially when dealing with a health crisis. The story is not a happily ever after fluffy feel good Lifetime movie nor is it so utterly depressing, but a real life look at living with cancer and fighting for your life and happiness.
As I’m writing this I cannot think of anything negative to say about the book, so I’m bumping up the star rating to a 5.
While it’s a bit of a heavy topic, do yourself a favor and read the book. The discussions about health, feminism, the medical world, relationships, chronic illness and body autonomy are fascinating, necessary and impactful.
My honest to goodness first thoughts were something along the lines of, well this will be a depressing read. And in some ways it is. Cancer sucks. But the book is also educating, validating, inspiring, harrowing, and thought provoking. The intersection of medicine, feminism, and the LGBTQIA+ community is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Her story fills a gap of information and experiences that’s not discussed in the world of pink on pink on pink of breast cancer.
Flat gives a voice to women who choose not to have reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy. At first thought it seems like such a radical idea, but after reading I’ve become so much more educated the autonomy that women should have over their own bodies, especially when dealing with a health crisis. The story is not a happily ever after fluffy feel good Lifetime movie nor is it so utterly depressing, but a real life look at living with cancer and fighting for your life and happiness.
As I’m writing this I cannot think of anything negative to say about the book, so I’m bumping up the star rating to a 5.
While it’s a bit of a heavy topic, do yourself a favor and read the book. The discussions about health, feminism, the medical world, relationships, chronic illness and body autonomy are fascinating, necessary and impactful.
March 31, 2020
If readers want a personal source of information about body image after a mastectomy, this book is an excellent resource. As a 68 year-old survivor of two different types of breast cancer, I decided to remain flat after my double mastectomy, just as the author, Catherine Guthrie, did. It was definitely the right decision for me. I do hope the reconstructive surgery will become safer for younger cancer survivors. In the meantime, be assured that there are some wonderful, comfortable prosthetic bras available to wear when the need arises. They are free by a breast surgeon’s prescription.
February 22, 2019
This is a very good book. It was the perfect book to preload on my phone for a long day of travel. The writing is excellent. It held my attention. I read the entire book in one day and I’m sorry to see it end.
September 22, 2018
The truth about cancer
As a relatively new cancer patient and "flattie" I loved this book. It was relatable and honest, but still carried the thread of hope that is within all of us.
As a relatively new cancer patient and "flattie" I loved this book. It was relatable and honest, but still carried the thread of hope that is within all of us.
October 1, 2022
This book let me know what to anticipate as I progress through my breast cancer journey. A must read for anyone thinking or not thinking of going flat, written with humor, compassion and leading to hope for the future.
September 18, 2018
This is a cautionary tale for all women about the mine field one navigates when dealing with breast cancer. Catherine Guthrie has written an open, brave memoir about her treacherous journey through her treatment, marred by multiple medical mistakes. She shares her losses, her battles with fatigue and depression in a direct, yet riveting voice. Every woman should read this book and should give it to all the very special people who care deeply about her.
January 2, 2022
This book was an out of left field pick for me (lent to me by a friend who has had a double mastectomy) and I could hardly put it down. Engagingly and honestly written it taught me a lot about experiences of cancer, and breast cancer in particular. Excellent read
January 20, 2019
As a health journalist, Catherine Guthrie thought she knew what she was up against when she learned she had breast cancer. Instead, she was plunged into a roller-coaster experience full of unexpected twists and turns. This is not a book to read if you want a sugar-coated pink-ribbon version of what it's like to have breast cancer. It is absolutely the book to read if you want an honest, knowledgeable, clear-eyed view of one woman's experience--with universal insights into why it's so important to trust your body and intuition when confronting a health crisis. By turns funny and heartbreaking, it will keep you turning the pages!
January 3, 2019
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2018, had a single mastectomy in September and am currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment. This book was un-put-downable even though very difficult to read at times because the author's experiences were so harrowing at times. It certainly made me feel that what would have seemed insurmountable in the past is actually survivable and there can be real light at the end of the tunnel. I am so happy she wrote this book and that I found it, both from the perspective of living with cancer and treatment but also from someone that, like me, chose to not go through reconstruction.
April 13, 2018
Author Catherine Guthrie holds nothing back in this memoir of breast cancer. She asks the questions that women often think about, but are too shy to ask. Do you have to have breast reconstruction? What happens if you don't. But don't be fooled by the medical jargon, this is at its heart, a love story.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
November 4, 2018
I recognized so many moments from my own journey with breast cancer in Guthrie’s words! I highly recommend this book to anyone traveling this path and to the people who love them! May we all find a home in ourselves!
November 28, 2018
When Guthrie recently read a passage from her new book FLAT, her mainly female audience listened as if spellbound. Regardless of our age or circumstances, we’re all in the same boat when it comes to the fear of losing part of our bodies to breast cancer. FLAT will change your outlook on the medical establishment; it will make you think—and not only about cancer and breast reconstruction issues. How do you want to experience and live in your body? How important are breasts to your feminine identity? To your partner? What is your past medical history? What kind of physical and emotional support will you need to ask for—and offer yourself—should you ever be in the predicament Guthrie tells us about? The narrator happens to be the femme element in a lesbian relationship, but the questions she asks herself and her partner Mary are important to all of us.
The topic is riveting, and so is the writing. There are many doctor’s room visits in the book, and each one of them is told in a dynamic way that makes me feel I’m right there in the room with the narrator. Guthrie captures the complex, visceral tensions—not to mention random absurdities—a person feels under the professional gaze of an examining physician, especially if we already suspect something is wrong. Like other readers, I enjoy the way the narrator widens the optic by weaving into her story how she slowly discovered her sexual identity, cultivated her own sense of style, and found a partner. She also evokes the specific places and cultural atmospheres that allowed her to flourish at different stages of her life. We get to see how all these interwoven elements inform her response to illness and her renewed pursuit of health.
Throughout her harrowing saga, the author underscores the fact that the knowledge medical personnel bring to bear is NOT the same as the knowledge we each have of our own bodies. As Guthrie reminds us, bodies are our primary residences. We live in them every day, whereas doctors only look on for a few minutes or a couple of hours.
I can only hope this book will be a game changer in the breast cancer treatment arena. Women need more straightforward information and more options.
The topic is riveting, and so is the writing. There are many doctor’s room visits in the book, and each one of them is told in a dynamic way that makes me feel I’m right there in the room with the narrator. Guthrie captures the complex, visceral tensions—not to mention random absurdities—a person feels under the professional gaze of an examining physician, especially if we already suspect something is wrong. Like other readers, I enjoy the way the narrator widens the optic by weaving into her story how she slowly discovered her sexual identity, cultivated her own sense of style, and found a partner. She also evokes the specific places and cultural atmospheres that allowed her to flourish at different stages of her life. We get to see how all these interwoven elements inform her response to illness and her renewed pursuit of health.
Throughout her harrowing saga, the author underscores the fact that the knowledge medical personnel bring to bear is NOT the same as the knowledge we each have of our own bodies. As Guthrie reminds us, bodies are our primary residences. We live in them every day, whereas doctors only look on for a few minutes or a couple of hours.
I can only hope this book will be a game changer in the breast cancer treatment arena. Women need more straightforward information and more options.
September 27, 2020
In a word, this book is incredible; I would give it six stars if I could. I started it on 8pm the day I got it, and finished it by 9am the next morning, stopping only to sleep. I would recommend it highly.
This is so much more than a story about cancer: it is a love story where cancer is the unexpected enemy that tries to take the author's identity, love, and life from her. It's a book about family, about self-image, about queerness, about relationships, about disease, about anxiety/depression, about mortality, and about how all of those things intersect with our sense of self. The rich tapestries she paints of every scene: the central brown couch, faithful four-legged Emma, the layout of the Bloomington house, and the depths to which she explores each character's thoughts, both in the moment and with the perspective of time - it's like taking the sensitive richness of Joan Didion and combining it with the psychological insights of Virginia Woolf.
That said, as a book about cancer, I appreciated how it didn't shy away from the harsh realities of the disease; instead the author embraces the pain, awkwardness, and darkness that came with every step forward and back. It made the story more real, far more intense, and beautifully illustrated the depth of her wife and family's love.
I literally cried myself through most of the book, both for what she lost and what she gained. I can only aspire to write that well someday.
ps: Full disclosure - I came upon this book unexpectedly. I had reached out to the author's wife, a colleague of mine, for advice about a book I'm writing; she recommended I check out this one. I'm both glad I did, and also greatly intimidated at the thought of being able to produce anything even a fraction as powerful.
This is so much more than a story about cancer: it is a love story where cancer is the unexpected enemy that tries to take the author's identity, love, and life from her. It's a book about family, about self-image, about queerness, about relationships, about disease, about anxiety/depression, about mortality, and about how all of those things intersect with our sense of self. The rich tapestries she paints of every scene: the central brown couch, faithful four-legged Emma, the layout of the Bloomington house, and the depths to which she explores each character's thoughts, both in the moment and with the perspective of time - it's like taking the sensitive richness of Joan Didion and combining it with the psychological insights of Virginia Woolf.
That said, as a book about cancer, I appreciated how it didn't shy away from the harsh realities of the disease; instead the author embraces the pain, awkwardness, and darkness that came with every step forward and back. It made the story more real, far more intense, and beautifully illustrated the depth of her wife and family's love.
I literally cried myself through most of the book, both for what she lost and what she gained. I can only aspire to write that well someday.
ps: Full disclosure - I came upon this book unexpectedly. I had reached out to the author's wife, a colleague of mine, for advice about a book I'm writing; she recommended I check out this one. I'm both glad I did, and also greatly intimidated at the thought of being able to produce anything even a fraction as powerful.
November 4, 2018
Catherine Guthrie’s memoir, Flat: Reclaiming My Body From Breast Cancer may not appear to be a book for everyone, but it is. Yes, it’s a book on breast cancer. But it is also a book about learning to deal with uncertainty and live with joy.
The particulars of Guthrie’s story include an unexpected, life threatening diagnosis of breast cancer in her thirties, her search for the best surgeons and treatments, and subsequent serious surgical errors by not one, but two well-trained specialists. Guthrie is a respected journalist specializing in women’s health. She presents hard facts without deceptive soft edges. Her story blends information breast cancer patients and those care for and love them need, with a generous and intimate look at her relationships with her body and her partner Mary. Mary is by her side every step of the way through decisions to elect a double mastectomy, forego reconstructive procedures, and live in a strong “flat” body.
By coupling health uncertainties that will remain with her forever and the growth of her loving relationship with Mary, Guthrie leads readers along a path toward the triumph of hope and courage. Read this book. It has important lessons to share.
The particulars of Guthrie’s story include an unexpected, life threatening diagnosis of breast cancer in her thirties, her search for the best surgeons and treatments, and subsequent serious surgical errors by not one, but two well-trained specialists. Guthrie is a respected journalist specializing in women’s health. She presents hard facts without deceptive soft edges. Her story blends information breast cancer patients and those care for and love them need, with a generous and intimate look at her relationships with her body and her partner Mary. Mary is by her side every step of the way through decisions to elect a double mastectomy, forego reconstructive procedures, and live in a strong “flat” body.
By coupling health uncertainties that will remain with her forever and the growth of her loving relationship with Mary, Guthrie leads readers along a path toward the triumph of hope and courage. Read this book. It has important lessons to share.
February 27, 2020
This was a book that I could not put down. You don't need to have or know someone with breast cancer to find this engaging. It's not just about the author's decision to not have breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, and it's not just about battling breast cancer. It's a book about female identity, supporting people and their choices, the stages of emotion that serious illness can cause, and it's also about trusting yourself and realizing that doctors can make mistakes. The author went through some really awful medical experiences, which is the only reason I hesitate to recommend this to someone at the beginning of their journey. But I also think that people going through this- especially younger women- would find comfort in knowing that they're not alone.
I especially loved her writing about pink-washing and the sugar-coating of breast cancer stories. And her description of the cancer support group, where she finds herself becoming the person who sizes up others and judges them based on their staging and such- that was very honest. And omg, did I want to give her and Mary hugs throughout.
I especially loved her writing about pink-washing and the sugar-coating of breast cancer stories. And her description of the cancer support group, where she finds herself becoming the person who sizes up others and judges them based on their staging and such- that was very honest. And omg, did I want to give her and Mary hugs throughout.
November 22, 2018
I was atttracted to this topic not because I have breast cancer, but because I regularly deal with the medical profession and its many challenges. (I wrote a similar book, from a caretaker's view, about my husband's heart condition and surgery.) Now, as I age, I also have doctor and specialists handling several nervous system challenges that have no known cure and sketchy treatments. I have learned that women's medicine is often a mystery, while men's medicine (especially heart surgery) comes with thoroughly tested and understood procedures. Ms. Guthrie has written not only about her personal experience with a double masectomy but about how women are handled when faced with difficult choices. I highly recommend this book for women faced with any medical condition and especially breast cancer.
September 16, 2024
Like many of my favorite memoirs, Flat made me laugh and cry. Catherine invites the reader into her skin. We feel every injustice and each glaring and almost unfathomable medical error. She gives us a front row seat to the frustration inherent in trying to access quality care when you don’t fit within the expected algorithm. Even as a skilled health journalist, Catherine struggles to be heard, her voice silenced against the weight of the western medical model. She struggles with making unpopular decisions, navigating confusing diagnoses, and advocating for herself within a hospital system that provides cookie cutter care. But with this book, she reclaims her voice. She speaks for so many women who find themselves in similar circumstances. And she leaves her readers with hope— and the sense that when you listen to your body, good things follow.
February 24, 2019
This book was not easy to read as it brought back memories of having gone through BC at approximately the same age and time as the author. It was disturbing when I read the colossal errors made on her surgery. Marking a tumor with a marker or wire could have avoided the error.
I could feel the authors' pain, anger and frustration as her physical and mental health declined and her relationship deteriorated. Reading this book made me realize that patients need to not only accept support from others but their partners need to accept support and take much needed breaks from the sometimes horrific cancer journey. I recommend this book to anyone going through treatment as well as anyone who is supporting someone going through treatment.
I could feel the authors' pain, anger and frustration as her physical and mental health declined and her relationship deteriorated. Reading this book made me realize that patients need to not only accept support from others but their partners need to accept support and take much needed breaks from the sometimes horrific cancer journey. I recommend this book to anyone going through treatment as well as anyone who is supporting someone going through treatment.
April 7, 2019
Realistic look at being a cancer patient
Not maudlin but very truthful. Her struggle with this insidious disease is heart rending but also hopeful. Not every patient has the same experience and there is no one size fits all treatment or reason for why some get cancer and some don't. Deciding to have a double mastectomy without reconstructive surgery was informative and enlightening. Dealing with mistakes in the medical profession shows the importance of being your own advocate and not fearing to speak your concerns to your doctors, insisting you are to be taken seriously. An excellent read.
Not maudlin but very truthful. Her struggle with this insidious disease is heart rending but also hopeful. Not every patient has the same experience and there is no one size fits all treatment or reason for why some get cancer and some don't. Deciding to have a double mastectomy without reconstructive surgery was informative and enlightening. Dealing with mistakes in the medical profession shows the importance of being your own advocate and not fearing to speak your concerns to your doctors, insisting you are to be taken seriously. An excellent read.
January 15, 2025
Catherine Guthrie schreibt als Zeitschriftenautorin seit Jahren über Brustkrebs. Bis sie selbst die Diagnose bekommt. Sie entscheidet sich für eine Mastektomie ohne Wiederaufbau und beschreibt ihren Weg zu ihrem Körper zurück zu finden.
Das Buch ist interessant geschrieben und gerade die Perspektiven einer queeren Frau auf das Thema finde ich sehr wertvoll. An manchen Stellen wurde mir zu sehr abgeschwiffen und die Chemo dafür aber zum Beispiel kaum behandelt. An viele Stellen habe ich mich aber wieder erkannt, gerade als es darum ging, welche Erwartungen an Frauen bei der OP-Entscheidung gestellt werden. Insgesamt ein bereicherndes Buch.
3,5 Sterne
Das Buch ist interessant geschrieben und gerade die Perspektiven einer queeren Frau auf das Thema finde ich sehr wertvoll. An manchen Stellen wurde mir zu sehr abgeschwiffen und die Chemo dafür aber zum Beispiel kaum behandelt. An viele Stellen habe ich mich aber wieder erkannt, gerade als es darum ging, welche Erwartungen an Frauen bei der OP-Entscheidung gestellt werden. Insgesamt ein bereicherndes Buch.
3,5 Sterne
September 11, 2019
Great read for anyone, but particularly people who have had cancer treatment. The author is smart, funny and observant. She is honest, even when her honesty does not paint herself in a particularly flattering light (which I loved--we need more authenticity in stories about the "cancer journey.") Her story is both unique with some unexpected twists, but also familiar to anyone who has experienced cancer or other serious medical treatments. It's also a beautiful love letter to her partner and her family without being maudlin in the least. I really loved it.
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