Breasts
A Relatively Brief Relationship – the funny, moving and universally relatable memoir
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Breasts
Narrated by:
Jean Hannah Edelstein
Buy Now for £17.94
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Narrated by:
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Jean Hannah Edelstein
THE TIMES
'A must-read'
JESSIE BURTON
'One of the most brilliant writers of her generation, as witty, wry and unsentimental as Nora Ephron'
OLIVIA LAING
'I LOVED this book'
NINA STIBBE
In this short, striking memoir, Jean Hannah Edelstein charts the course of her unexpectedly brief relationship with breasts.
As she comes of age, she learns that breasts are a source of both shame and power. In early motherhood, she sees her breasts transform into a source of sustenance and a locus of pain. And then, all too soon, she is faced with a diagnosis and forced to confront what it means to lose and rebuild an essential part of yourself.
Funny and moving, elegant and furious and full of heart, Breasts is an original and indispensable read. It is both an intimate account of one woman's relationship with her own body and a universally relatable story for anyone who has ever had - or lost - breasts.
'Painful and funny and essential'
FRANCESCA SEGAL
'A thunderclap . . . I was blown away'
MARIANNE LEVY
'A tit punch of a book'
ROSAMUND DEAN
'Nobody writes about the curveballs life throws at you, or helps you deal with them, like Jean Hannah Edelstein'
DAVID WHITEHOUSE©2025 Jean Hannah Edelstein
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Critic reviews
Has the power to knock the breath out of you . . . you relish her cool eloquence and wit, then feel the burn of her white-hot rage. To many women, Edelstein's words will feel cathartic . . . Breasts feels like a classic
This is an uplifting volume, as well as a short, sharp shock . . . fascinating and important . . . How wonderful that we have this sane, detailed and funny account
A wonderful book about the author's unexpectedly brief relationship with her breasts. The titles of the book's three sections will give you an idea of what happens: sex, food, cancer. Edelstein is a brilliantly clear-eyed and insightful writer and packs so much into only 100 pages
Jean Hannah Edelstein is a glorious writer. I LOVED this book - furious and moving and laugh-out-loud funny (Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina)
In this unwavering, sharp and profoundly thoughtful memoir, Jean Hannah Edelstein unfolds her experiences, both universal and devastatingly unique, with trademark tenderness and wit . . . a must-read (Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist)
Brilliant and exquisite. Nobody writes about the curveballs life throws at you, or helps you deal with them, like Jean Hannah Edelstein (David Whitehouse, author of About A Son)
Absolutely loved it. Painful and funny and essential (Francesca Segal)
Jean Hannah Edelstein is honest, cynical, loving and funny. Breasts is a special book - short and powerful with no messing around. For people with breasts, mothers, women with cancer, and the people who love them, it will be an indispensable read (Jessica Stanley)
Unique and beautiful . . . so tender and furious and funny (Jo Cheetham, author of Killjoy)
With brevity, piquancy and wit, Jean Hannah Edelstein has written a memoir that speaks directly to the public and private nature of bodies and autonomy. Her prose has the buoyancy and bravery of fellow New Yorker Laurie Colwin (Catherine Taylor, author of The Stirrings)
I would read anything Jean Hannah Edelstein writes. Breasts is a thunderclap of a memoir. When I read it, in a single sitting, I was blown away. Breasts is one of those books you read and just know instantly that it's going into the canon; it feels so urgent, and yet somehow like it's always existed. The writing is stunning, lyrical and funny and absolutely smarting with truth. Reading it, I felt seen in a way I haven't for a long time, and that I was being given permission to be angry about so many experiences I had dismissed or buried or been told to ignore. I love how fearlessly Edelstein writes, how she embraces contradiction, how funny she is and how deeply she feels. It is a difficult time to be a woman and books like this have never been more vital. Read it if you have breasts or if you know someone with breasts (Marianne Levy, author of Don’t Forget to Scream)
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