Family History Of X
by Lori Jakiela
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my doctor, Dr. Johnson, who looked like the late great comedian Norm MacDonald and told late-great-comedian jokes and liked to draw stick-figure breasts on a whiteboard to show surgical options, asked, “Do you have a family history?”
Dr. Johnson had already drawn a pair of disembodied breasts before he asked this. The breasts and nipples were squared off, like they’d been built with Legos.
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Elisa Gabbert, recommendations from Kristen Arnett, and more.
In our weekend reading: a playlist from Beth Lisick, reviews of novels by Lance Olsen and K. Ferrari, and more.
In our morning reading: thoughts on books by Ling Ma and Cristina Rivera Garza, an interview with Kat Gardiner, and more.
In our Monday reading: interviews with Ann Patchett and Scott McClanahan, thoughts on books by Nisi Shawl and Adam Fitzgerald, and more.
In our morning reading: Carl Wilson on Elvis Costello’s memoir, literary advice from Lincoln Michel, Michaelangelo Matos on Bob Dylan, and more.