Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front (and Back) by Mara Altman is an uproariously entertaining collection of essays packed with thoroughly original musings on the female body. Chin hair, bosoms, bellybuttons, hemorrhoids: she leaves no stone unturned in her quest to demystify the workings of the female anatomy.
Altman (Thanks for Coming) has amassed an impressive volume of medical research and anecdotal asides on bodily functions by interviewing a veritable army of experts, including a neuroscientist, an evolutionary biologist, an anatomy professor, a chemist, a gynecologist and a "pelvic practitioner." Friends, relatives and her endlessly patient husband, Dave, are also consulted. She breaks down the medical research into easily digestible bites and has an uncanny way of reaching one's deepest fears of physical and functional imperfections and dragging them out into the open to share. By exposing universal anatomical insecurities, Altman reduces their power, proving that we are meant to be exactly as we are, warts and all.
This body-positive manifesto is a perfect read for any woman who has ever wondered if she was the only one with copious sweat glands, hair in all the wrong places and female odors that are oddly attractive to dogs. With absolutely no inhibitions, Altman is leading the way for more honest conversations about the glorious imperfections of the female anatomy, a truly welcome change from the insecurity-breeding images of perfect bodies that surround us on social media. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer