A Boob's Life: How America's Obsession Shaped Me...and You

by Leslie Lehr

A Boob’s Life explores the surprising truth about women’s most popular body part with vulnerable, witty frankness and true nuggets of American culture that will resonate with everyone who has breasts—or loves them.

Author Leslie Lehr wants to talk about boobs. She’s gone from size AA to DDD and everything between, from puberty to motherhood, enhancement to cancer, and beyond. And she’s not alone—these are classic life stages for women today.

At turns funny and heartbreaking, A Boob’s Life explores both the joys and hazards inherent to living in a woman’s body. Lehr deftly blends her personal narrative with national history, starting in the 1960s with the women’s liberation movement and moving to the current feminist dialogue and what it means to be a woman. Her insightful and clever writing analyzes how America’s obsession with the female form has affected her own life’s journey and the psyche of all women today.

From her prize-winning fiction to her viral New York Times Modern Love essay, exploring the challenges facing contemporary women has been Lehr’s life-long passion. A Boob’s Life, her first project since breast cancer treatment, continues this mission, taking readers on a wildly informative, deeply personal, and utterly relatable journey. No matter your gender, you’ll never view this sexy and sacred body part the same way again.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, History, Memoir, Womens, Audiobook, Biography

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2021

About the author

Preorder A Boob's Life in paperback for Mother's Day! New material adds to the the pop culture memoir that Good Morning America and Glamour Magazine call a Must-read, People lists it in Best New Books, Katie Couric's book curator, Zibby Owens (host of the Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books podcast), names it as one of the books that got her through quarantine... and Salma Hayek is making it into a comedy series for HBOMax!

Leslie, called "a bold new voice for Modern Feminism," also wrote the Target Recommended thriller What A Mother Knows, the book club hit, Wife Goes On, and her prize-winning debut, 66 Laps. She's written three humorous nonfiction books, the film for "Heartless," and "Club Divorce" for Lifetime. Her essays are featured in The New York Times Modern Love column, Huffington Post, and anthologies including Mommy Wars, The Honeymoon's Over, and On Becoming Fearless.

Sign up for news and download a Book Club Guide at www.Leslielehr.com. Join the community at facebook/authorleslielehr and follow @leslielehr_author on IG.

Aside from being a bookworm and prize-winning author, Leslie is the Novel Consultant for Truby Writers Studio, does private mentoring, and speaking at conferences around the country.

Love your boobs!

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book almost as a goof. After a tome or two on planetary physics and physical anthropology and the Spanish Civil War, I needed a break. Here, judging by its cover, was a humorous take on America’s unhealthy obsession with the human breast. I thought I’d learn a little history, have a few laughs, toss the book a star or two, and move on. I was so wrong.

Okay, I was right about one thing. It is a history lesson on this country’s sexually obsessive neurosis. But that’s really only a conduit for a very intimate and sometimes heart-wrenching autobiography.

To be honest, my thoughts about boobs had rarely gone much deeper than the objectification that my American self was programmed for. I had never really contemplated the psychological and cultural significance of breasts and bras and that deep, soft cleavage a guy could get lost in. Wait… what were we talking about?

Breasts. Boobies. Ta-Ta’s. Their presence announces to the world who you are. Their absence announces to the world who you are not. Their size is considered inversely proportional to intelligence. They make and break relationships. They make and break careers. They populate art works and advertising. They feed babies. And they kill thousands and thousands of human beings every year.

A Boob’s Life is Leslie Lehr’s journey. It’s her saga of growing-up and growing-older in a world replete with insecurities and implants, feminists and chauvinists, marriages and divorces, misogynistic politics and archaic ideologies, cancers and chemotherapies. I feel a little less flippant, a little more humble, and a lot more enlightened.

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank Kerry Anne King for both bringing my attention to this memoir and also recommending it to me as I had asked her if there was any value for me as a male to read it.

Leslie Lehr is a writer and has worked in Hollywood most of her life and she has experienced a lot. In writing this memoir, she has highlighted the undue influence of breasts in her life as well as most Americans (she does mostly talk about Americans here).

Starting with her early interest in boobs as a young girl (everything from seeing a topless picture of her mother in her drawer to her fathers extensive Playboy collection), then as an adolescent (the power of boobs in young girls, either you have them or you don't) and eventually to dating and marriage and raising two girls.

At the end of each chapter Ms Lehr lists facts, everything from cheerleaders, Playboy and many interesting highlights about women and boobs. In her own life, starting with breastfeeding, her unequal marriage, eventually having breast implants and then breast cancer, her journey is fraught. As the book progresses, it becomes more about inequality and gender imbalance and the outright unfairness in the American system; after all she works in Hollywood and lives in LA.

After 20 years of marriage, she leaves (AVOs, violence, constant fighting and evenual suicide of a dysfunctional man), she dates a friend she has known for a while and they eventually enter a positive relationship and marriage. We even get to witness Trump's entry into American lives and the disaster it has been for most women (not enough unfortunately) where even her beloved father became a strong Trump supporter, to her dismay.

The book is informative, sometimes light hearted and funny, sometimes very hard going, full of difficulties and but also love. But is is a story about Leslie, women in America and of course boobs.

[Heather Gudenkauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leslie Lehr’s A BOOB’S LIFE is told with heart, humor, hope and a whole lot of sassiness. Lehr fearlessly and candidly brings us along on her breast cancer journey and beyond. Have a box of tissues at the ready as you read this deeply personal memoir, you’ll need them to wipe away tears of heartache and laughter.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love microhistories, and everything about this book and its summary point to a book about a microhistory of the breast.

It's not, it's a memoir of the author and her relationship with her breasts. I'm not familiar with the author in any other context, but that was fine with me, I also love memoirs, even if I don't know the author.

This... got uncomfortable in ways that made me want to scream at the author. While she seems to pinpoint her obsession- and I do mean obsession- with all things breasts (hers and everyone elses) with a comment her father made in her pre-teen years, comparing her and her friend in their bathing suits, never once does she ever recognize the horrifically toxic comments she's passing on to the next generation, all the while screaming she's a feminist. She pulls her underage niece aside, newly developed, to ask "what's it like to have breasts now?"

After having a breast enlargement herself (you do you), she goes with her 21 year old daughter to her consultation for her breast enlargement, she spends the entire consultation body shaming her daughter in an effort to dissuade her daughter from the procedure because she didn't want her to have it (not because of any side effects she experienced, she simply didn't want her to have the procedure). I kept thinking how much longer it would be until I personally would end up going no contact with a body-shaming mom like this.

There are so many points in this book where I heard her call herself a feminist, then pass on the toxic values she devalued her dad for having. All with no insight.

And, for the fact this book bills itself as a book about a general history about boobs and not a memoir... simply a 1/5.

[Rachel M M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should be billed as a memoir. Very little facts and figures surround what is essentially the author's very unhealthy relationship with her body, specifically her breasts.

What really did me in is the retelling of her father's remarks of her best friend's developed chest in front of both of the girls. As an adult she doesn't think how inappropriate the whole scenario is; her father just sexualized his pubescent daughter and friend!

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Boob’s Life by Leslie Lehr is a well written memoir that is truly insightful, eye opening, powerful and a must read. I enjoyed reading about the historical and social constructs of one of the most controversial body part, and glean a lot of shocking data and statistics sprinkled throughout, making this book wildly informative.

Leslie Lehr opens up her life, and her journey including her battle with breast cancer which was incredibly moving. This book however is hopeful and positive, and encourages the readers to evaluate the influence of boobs in our lives - from the source of self esteem and power, to the source of giving life as nutrition, and the source of taking life too with a devastating disease.

Leslie Lehr was able to deliver with such a strong impact, this message of self-care and early detection, in a lighthearted and humorous way through this very important book. As a healthcare provider, I deliver a stamp of approval and this is a must read.

I am so excited to see this in HBO Max with Salma Hayek.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is promoted as part memoir, part cultural study. I think it’s way more memoir than cultural study, and I was hoping for more of the latter. It’s still a really interesting book, especially for anyone who hasn’t sort of looked at this issue before - the issue of how we define beauty and perfection in women and how much it’s based on their appearance. There are some really interesting elements in the book, such as the question “how do we distinguish empowerment from exploitation when the viewer benefits from both?” And statistics around breast augmentation, such as a quote from the American Association of plastic surgeons in 1982 “small breasts are ‘a disease’ that leads to ‘a total lack of well-being.’” Another interesting statistic: in 1998, 40 of the 51 contestants in Miss USA have breast implants. In the end, I’m not really sure what the authors point was in writing this book. At one point she writes “that was how I felt about breasts too I realized. My prejudice against them was more about their bad reputation than the reality. “Even after reading 2/3 of the book before coming across these sentences, I’m not really sure what she means by that.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish it. Reading this book, I was somewhat disenchanted but was enjoying some of the historical points. However, when I finished the chapter in which she comes to terms with, and separates from her abusive husband, (which is awesome and I applaud her, that's hard)she still managed to wrap the chapter up in such a way that she still thinks none of this would have happened if she had better boobs. At this point I lost respect for the author and couldn't imagine giving a shit about anything else she had to say after that. (I did go through and read the rest of the factoids though.)

[Katee · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting idea, however poorly written. It's like a bad high school essay, with vaguely related quotes and figures thrown in. Too bad.

[Madison Houghton · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but the memoir style wasn’t it for me.
I was intrigued by the beginning of Lehr’s story; her childhood, adolescence, and teenage through young adulthood. But that’s where it ends for me. I finished the book, but reluctantly. Let’s discuss.

Be warned, it’s about to get… breasty up in here.

Let me start by saying that my mother recommended I read this after I told her I want a breast reduction. So… you know… keep that in mind.

The author talks about how being small-chested made her self-conscious and eventually led her to getting a breast augmentation. She describes her early encounters with pornography, the human body, her own sexuality, her own breasts. Although I didn’t find it directly relatable (since most of the time she’s complaining about not having breasts and most of my life has been nothing but breasts), I did find it interesting.

She discusses the taboo of breasts in the media, the evolutionary impact of breasts in women and in men, the culture around breasts and the history of said culture.
Those sections I found really fascinating, and enjoyable to read.

As I said, some of her experiences are absolutely foreign to me. The things people have said to her? The way they’ve treated her? It was… shocking. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where my father was respectful of women, didn’t watch anything pornographic in any sense of the word, and who taught me by example about how men should act.
Reading about Lehr’s life was eye opening, and not in a good way.

I’ve never felt discriminated against or put down for being a woman in my career or education, but I’ve had those experiences of walking down a street and hearing cat calls or lewd comments.

One experience in particular, the first time I ever heard a comment like that directed my way, haunts me still.

I was 21, walking down the boardwalk with my sister in LA, she was 14. I was wearing a striped top with a cardigan and my glasses.
A group of young men walked by us and I distinctly heard one of them sniggering to his friends, “I’ll take the sexy librarian looking one, you can have to other one.”
Immediately I stopped in my tracks, I honestly couldn’t believe I’d heard that. I was aware people talked about cat calling like it was an issue, but I’d never experienced it. And I felt shame, horror, fear, anger. I felt violated and objectified, like I wasn’t anything more than a walking sex toy.
I wasn’t a person, I was an object.

Lehr talks a bit about the catch-22 of such a situation. Breasts are the most prominent and obvious sign of femininity; without them you feel unattractive, un-feminine, body conscious. But with them it’s honestly not much better.
With breasts you feel ogled, spotlighted, hyper aware of men’s eyes watching you.

You’re damned if you have them, damned if you don’t.

There were also a few interesting comments on the “power” of breasts and femininity. Men are more lenient? Pliant? Willing to let you have your way? Idk what the appropriate term is here but you get the idea.

(Honestly she’s not entirely wrong about that one. I’ve gotten out of and into so many things just because I’m a woman with big boobs, but as previously stated, it comes at a price.)

The pieces of the book that address the above situation, and situations like it, were phenomenal. It started so so well.

And then went off the tracks.

Like I said, maybe it was the memoir thing. The author went full “autobiographical mode” and frankly, I didn’t care.
She failed to connect with me enough as a reader to take me on the emotional journey of her life; through marriage, abuse, divorce, breast cancer, etc.
I could not make myself invest.

She lacked conclusions or direction. It felt rambley and slightly incoherent. She moved from event to event without any real strategy or theme beyond “boobs” and for me it just wasn’t enough.

Then she got political and preachy, and maybe I’m outing myself here by saying I don’t agree with some of her views, but I don’t agree with a lot of her views.
It just got more and more bizarre until I found myself asking “what was the point of this book again?”

And that is where I left it. So yeah, not as good as it could’ve been.

My recommendation: read the first third of it and the last few chapters. Skip everything in between.
Or don’t read it at all. I covered all the interesting bits of discussion here in this review so there’s really not much more you’ll get out of it 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Andrea | andrea.c.lowry.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest with y’all, I don’t know where to begin with this review. Leslie Lehr’s story meant so much to me. I’ve always been a woman who has struggled with image issues (is there a woman out there who doesn’t?), and after having a mastectomy my breasts became something I couldn’t even stand to look at in the mirror. And, it’s been that way for over 10 years now. The struggle is real ladies, and I’m not even dealing with “real” boob issues anymore. Anyway…enough with my sad crap and on to more of the review…

A Boob’s Life is Lehr’s honest, insightful, and open story of her own battle with breast cancer and some excellent breast history. She also dives into how society and culture have defined the way women feel about their bodies and how women can even view and judge each other - Take a moment and think about that for a second…How do you as a female view other women on image alone? I’ve personally have had tons of women over the years tell me how jealous they are of my implants. The honest response I want to give them, but never do is, “I would gladly trade you, because not having nipples is still causing me to cringe every single day.”

Got side tracked again…back to the review…

Her story was filled with humor, and I loved it. I’m always someone who looks to the joy and humor of something whenever I can, so Lehr’s witty and entertaining writing kept me engaged in her memoir from the first chapter.

What really brings Lehr’s story home is the way she is able to be honest in the telling of her own journey through breast cancer. Her frankness gave a lot of grounding and power to her story. From there her encouragement for self-care and self-appreciation bring the story full circle, and I feel that this is really the main takeaway from her journey.

Overall, this is a thought provoking and poignant book that tells an educational story that will touch all women. Oh, and ladies touch those boobies every single day checking for lumps. Age does not matter!

I’m really looking forward to Salma Hayak’s production/tv series creation of this book for HBO Max. I’ve never once said this, but I am now…I’ll be right there sitting on my couch watching the first episode, and I cannot wait!!

[Kerry Anne King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever stop to wonder why our culture is so obsessed with breasts? Whether you own your own boobs or know somebody who does, (and you know that means everybody)you're going to want to check out Leslie Lehr's new memoir. This book is enlightening and eye opening, full of facts, interesting tidbits, and social commentary along with heartfelt and insightful boob-related memories. It really made me think and reframe some of my own experiences in a whole new way. Highly recommended, even if (like me) memoir isn't usually your thing.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure I will fully be able to capture how much I loved this book. Not only because the content is told with raw honesty, humor and vulnerability, but also because Leslie is simply stated, an amazing human. I loved that Leslie did not shy away from anything and is a force when it comes to clearly explaining what a complicated relationships women have with their bodies (boobs). I am calling for action...get this book and then share your love of it everywhere!!

[Addie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because it was a Christmas present from my sister. She thought I would like it because I’m a lesbian. I’ve never read something so obviously written by a straight cis woman. I didn’t really like it. It was very anti sex work and not at all how I view my boobs! Felt like she tried to make a very specific experience very general and it was kind of impossible to do that. :(

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars 🌟 🤩

[Aimee Dars]

Thank you so much to @tlcbooktours and @pegasusbooks for including me in the blog tour for 𝘈 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘣’𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 by @leslielehr1 and for a gifted copy of the book.

This is a fascinating and beautifully written memoir combined with a cultural history of breasts. In addition to an intimate view of her life from her childhood and parents’ divorce, her own troubled first marriage, motherhood, and breast cancer, Lehr contextualizes her experiences. Some things I learned: 4,000,000 bras are manufactured each day, and in 1998, 41 of 50 Miss USA contestants had had breast enlargement surgery, and most women do not know their accurate bra size.

𝘈 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘣’𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 was published on March 2 and is already in development as a TV series for HBO Max. I recommend for anyone who enjoys reading memoirs!

[Morgan Gariepy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 25%. This should be marketed purely as memoir.

The subtitle and description made it sound like a book filled with facts, studies, and social commentary around the obsession with boobs, and that the author's life experience would be little anecdotes sprinkled in. Instead, it's the opposite. The book is just her memoir discussing all the times she or someone else thought about or touched her breasts. The facts and data I expected were barely more than footnotes at the end of the chapters.

She has an unhealthy relationship with her body-specifically her breasts-and with her abusive father. The book reads as an angsty teen writing as catharsis, not an actual study of how breasts impact the people with them and the world as a whole.

[Barbara Conrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both timely and timeless, Lehr’s memoir takes her readers on an emotional journey that is laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreakingly sad. I applaud Lehr for her honesty. She’s given us all something to think about.

[Eleanor Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO SO GOOD — truly think everyone should read this. Great blend of memoir and history. Boobs man boobs

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is interesting because the author used her own experience with breast cancer and how she was raised to create a beautiful memoir. She was able to weave in this unique packaging centered around boobs. At its core, this book is about her life—from diving off the high board to falling in love and to having your life get knocked off course. I just loved it.

This book will help women see someone's whole life from the breast perspective and realize how much the culture has affected how we feel about our bodies, and even judge other women. But this isn't a book about breast cancer that is only covered in two chapters; it's about self-care and taking care of our bodies. The author reminds us that we are all obsessed with boobs in some way. We don't realize how much. Every day, we get up and have to do something with them. We have feelings about them, and everyone has a boob story. The author reminds us to love our bodies...and our boobs.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/les...

[Melanie Chartoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leslie Lehr's daring new book will do for the breast what Eve Ensler's illustrious play did for the vagina. She is taking this body part and all its conflictual connotations out of the closet for us to consider.

Early shocks made her the perfect spokesperson for breasts. Finding a topless Polaroid of her mother, then being compared to a more developed friend by her father when but a budding teen, had a huge impact on her.  Marrying an old-fashioned chauvinist like her Daddy did, too.

And like most women her age, commodifying her own objectification plays into her upward mobility.  Like me, female readers of her generation may identify with much of this find relief in her catharsis. Like me, readers will be fascinated by the locus of the nipple being the intersection of the sacred with the profane, the Madonna vs the Whore—a holy land that makes men hot!

As naturalists measure the age of trees by their rings, this cultural anthropologist of a memoirist measures her life phases by the culture's evolving attitudes toward her boobs: cheerleader culture, movie stars appearing topless in Playboy and actresses fully exposed in films; Miss USA contestants having implants, covered by insurance as enhanced breasts are deemed to improve lives (whose lives was never specified); the influence of Victoria's Secret; Dallas Cheerleaders; Girls Gone Wild. Her chapter titles chart the evolution of her bosomy attitudes over time: Daddy's Little Girl, Live Nude Women, Smart Vs Pretty, from Ms to Mom, Boob Job, Chemo Chick are examples that hint at the arc of her book.

Spoiler:  New love and a great marriage, plus the certain success of "Boob's Life" should bring this author a prolonged happy ending.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t a poorly written book, but I guess I had different expectations about what this would be about compared to what I got? I was expecting more of a cultural history of society’s fascination with breasts instead of a memoir of the author’s ambivalence about being a woman in modern culture. I need to learn to scope out the tags and read the synopsis before I pick up a book 😅

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a history of society's obsession with breasts, which is kind of is (maybe 10%?), but it's mostly about the author's own history with appearance and beauty and her breasts, as well as the messages she received about what it means to be a woman, etc.

Lost interest.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting and I'm willing to admit that had a big influence on my rating. It was a memoir of this woman's life, which while fascinating, was not actually something I was that interested in reading.

[Leslie Lehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pub day! So excited to share this with you! Love your boobs!

[Michele Anne Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unexpected, and incredible, walk through the history of women’s rights! Leslie Lehr definitely did her homework in writing A Boob’s Life: How America’s Obsession Shaped Me… And You. I was delving into this book thinking I’d be reading a biography of Leslie’s life experiences in relation to her physique. Instead, I found myself engrossed in not only Leslie’s life and perspectives, but also in all the amazing facts interspersed throughout this book. Due to growing up in essentially the same era, I found so much of the information to be fascinating as it brought up a lot of memories, good and bad. While living in New Jersey, (late 1970’s, early 1980’s), my father worked for a casino in Atlantic City. Well, as Halloween approached my dad had the silly idea to borrow a real Playboy Bunny cocktail waitress outfit for my brother to wear. It, of course, didn’t fit, so I, as a tenth grader, adorned the outfit and the bunny ears. Instead of being thrown out of the high school dance, I was flocked with onlookers. Mind you, I was a quiet and shy high schooler; the type of person picked last in any team sport in gym class. The attention was welcomed, but overwhelming. Flash forward a dozen years, plus, and I’m now working in cocktails in a casino wearing a skimpy outfit very similar to what I wore as a teenager. Crazy as I could never see my daughter exploiting herself as I did. Those were the days… A Boob’s Life: How America’s Obsession Shaped Me… And You by Leslie Lehr is a book I highly recommend. It’s one of those books that’ll have you thinking long after you’ve read it!

[Emily Hewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway and I was really looking forward to it. I am a bit disappointed to admit that it wasn’t exactly as good as I’d hoped. I thought this book would be half memoir / half history of women’s rights in the latter half of the 20th century. However, it is mostly entirely a memoir with some interesting historical facts listed between chapters and a few facts woven into the author’s own narrative. I was really into this book until about halfway through where I felt like the author was sort of grasping at straws to relate her life stories and experiences to her breasts. Maybe it’s because I don’t think about my boobs that much but a lot of the author’s desires to have larger or more perfect boobs isn’t something that I’ve ever obsessed over or wanted. That being said, unlike the author, I also didn’t grow up with a father or have a husband who cheated or was/is abusive and takes advantage of women. Certainly how you’re raised and things you witness in your childhood home has an effect on how you view yourself. I understood what the author was trying to do with this memoir, which was essentially to loop in her life experiences, including a childhood with a sexist father, an abusive first marriage, breast implants, a second marriage, and breast cancer, with her own feminist awakening and the 20th/21st century feminist movements, but the author’s stories and opinions just didn’t really resonate with me as much as I’d anticipated.

[CrafterFox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leslie Lehr’s A Boob’s Life: How America’s Obsession Shaped Me―and You is a memoir, a personal odyssey, as well as a cultural study of America’s deeply-rooted obsession with breasts. Lehr embarks on a journey that traces back to her early fascination with boobs during her childhood (prompted by a revealing photograph of her mother she found as a very young child). Having (or lacking) boobs defines pretty much her whole life and the way she looks at herself. Her self-image is very much tied into this vision of a perfect woman, who inevitably has large, perfectly shaped breasts. Although I did go through something similar during my teenage years (haven’t we all?), I still feel sad for that fact that Ms. Lehr went through much of her life equating some of her worth with the way her breasts look. It is undeniable that our culture is obsessed with breasts, and it is very true that a pretty woman can get farther in life than one that does not look exactly like the cheerleaders from Hollywood movies (girl next door my a**!). Boobs definitely have a lot to do with how pretty a woman is considered, but not always.

Read my full review on my blog

[John Truby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read in a long time

This is a brilliant book that will move you to tears and make you laugh out loud. Putting great insight together with deep emotion is extremely difficult for any writer to pull off, but author Leslie Lehr has done it. The book begins by taking you on her personal journey as she overcomes the obstacles in her life, both large and small.

But then she quickly taps into the zeitgeist better than any book in years. She effectively uses a subject, a premise, and an entirely new genre structure that together touches a nerve in a totally original way.

A Boob’s Life is a comical twist on the title of the famous memoir, A Boy’s Life. It’s primarily a comedy, and a surprisingly funny one at that. It’s the story of her own life but told through the point of view of her breasts and how they affected every major stage of her life. In my opinion by doing this she accomplishes the biggest feat for a memoir – showing how hers is everywoman’s story.

Not only that, she also added the genre of cultural commentary, which completely transcends the personal memoir form. She shows how America’s obsession with over-sexualizing breasts through advertising created a perfect storm of expectations of beauty and behavior that harms women.

Lehr pays off all these threads and reverberates with today’s challenges faced by women by coming to a new revelation about her own feminism, an inclusionary feminism for everyone, showing that justice for women, of every appearance, is freedom for us all. That’s really something, and it’s an incredibly fun journey to go on with her.

If you want something that makes you laugh, cry, and maybe think about yourself and your world in a whole new way, read this book!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is in no way, shape, or form (puns intended) a boring book. Leslie Lehr has written a fresh, entertaining and truly insightful book about something we constantly live with and will never take for granted. Except you may not realize just how much time in your life is filled just dealing with the different aspects of simply possessing this front and center feature. Sounds simple, but it's not. Think about it for a minute. Your mom had them, right? Ever wonder what they looked like when you were a kid? If you're female, did you ever wonder if yours would end up looking as good? Or maybe even better? (See, even as a kid, you're already judging!) Someday, you may consider breast enhancement. Yay or nay? How old? What size? And then there's the consideration of how should we dress for different situations. How much is okay to reveal? And the discussion isn't complete without talking about the flip side. Like possible misogyny in the workplace. Or even living through breast cancer which impacts way too many of us. What was surprising to me as I read through the pages was how much having boobs truly impacts all of our lives. What society expects. What we expect of ourselves. The upside and the downside. I really, really enjoyed reading this memoir and can unequivocally recommend it to anyone. It is so well-researched. And entertaining in a way that kept me turning pages in record time. I can't wait to see what Salma Hayek does with this on HBO Max. Thank you to Leslie Lehr and Pegasus Books for my copy. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go find a Nordstrom's.