How My Breasts Saved the World:
Misadventures of a Nursing Mother
by Lisa Wood Shapiro
(Lyons Press, 2004)

"My hair, which was not washed, was up in a ponytail. Cabbage leaves poked out of my nursing bra, which concealed my plastic nipple protectors and nursing pads. I sat on the bed with some kind of manmade pillow attached to my waist, like a cigarette box women wore in speakeasies while shouting, "Cigars, cigarettes." That was my motherly image and I'm not even going to talk about the granny panties."

Behind that image is a smart, witty, beautiful, nursing woman who isn't afraid to laugh at herself. In this hilarious breast-feeding tell-all--the first of its kind--Lisa Wood Shapiro recounts her misadventures of new motherhood from the delivery of her daughter and her rookie days as a food source to the bittersweet end of weaning.

This may be the information age, but so much of nursing still exists in the smart gal's rumor culture. Only after Shapiro shares her own nursing saga, complete with lactation consultants, chocolate binges, and a new use for green cabbage, do her friends and relatives confess to their own travails. Breast-feeding may be natural, but it is not always instinctual and one doesn't have to go it alone. There are professionals who can make it work without pain, and it does get easier.

Shapiro shares her newfound knowledge here, offering encouragement and advice on everything from choosing a pump to losing New Mom's Ass. Her endlessly enjoyable book addresses the rumors and breaks the taboos. Lisa Wood Shapiro is today's nursing mom: Nursing without a political agenda, tuning in to Sex & the City re-runs during feeding sessions, and sometimes buying generic diapers in order to stash away money for a proper leg wax. Whether or not your breasts have been involved in any world-saving activities, you won't be able to put this book down until you've read the last line.

"Boasting one of the more audacious titles of the season, HOW MY BREASTS SAVED THE WORLD is a memoir and how-to that speaks to the realities of breastfeeding."    -- Publishers Weekly

"Lisa Wood Shapiro is a true girlfriend. Whether you're a new mom or plan to become one, HOW MY BREASTS SAVED THE WORLD is a funny, moving must-read." -- Wendy Shanker, author of The Fat Girl's Guide to Life

"Hilarious! A refreshingly honest account of the challenges and triumphs of a new mommy." -- Jennifer Evans Gardner, author of Barefoot in the Kitchen

PARENTING
$18.95 U.S.
$28.95 Canada