Lois Stern starts where some of the other books on the subject seem to stop: with the questions we really, really want to ask but seldom do; with the answers we really want to have, but can’t seem to find.
Stern did the work. She conducted over 100 in-depth and intimate interviews with women. She had some work done herself, so she’s got cred. She tells the truth about her own experience, pushes aside some of the same old questions, (Am I a good candidate for X? Should I tell anyone or just pretend it’s the same old me?) and moves into fresh new territory.
She tells us certain questions come up over and over again – and that one of the most frequently asked by women before they have cosmetic surgery is this: “Will I be happier later?” That’s such an honest question, and Stern finds it again and again as she listens to women’s stories. We happen to think that a well-adjusted person who has cosmetic surgery can definitely be happier later. [Hint: and they seem to think so, too.] I mean, if you’ve gone through life feeling self conscious about your (insert body part here ________), you know the euphoria one can feel to look in the mirror and see sleek thighs where saddlebags once lived, or to see bright, flashing eyes that were once taken hostage by drooping lids and crinkled skin.
