In her raw, honest, and empowering memoir "Peek a Boob," Shelley takes readers on her personal journey battling breast cancer. With candid humor and heartfelt emotion, she provides a source of solidarity for her "Pink Sisters" also facing this disease.
While chronicling her own tests, treatments, and experiences, Shelley covers a wealth of practical information that makes this book an educational resource as well. She directly addresses the difficult and often unasked questions that arise, explaining medical realities in easy-to-understand terminology. As a registered nurse, I found Shelley's research and insights to be a valuable guide for breast cancer patients and their loved ones.
What sets "Peek a Boob" apart is Shelley's empathetic yet empowering tone throughout. Each chapter offers emotional support and sisterhood for readers going through their own cancer battles. Her ability to share uncomfortable truths through the lens of her inspiring resilience is remarkable.
Family members and caregivers would also greatly benefit from reading this book to better understand and support their loved ones. Shelley's candor around the physical, emotional, and existential impacts of breast cancer is both reassuring in its relatability and powerful in its activism against this disease.
Whether looking for an honest friend's advice, a relatable companion memoir, or a helpful guide to cancer treatment, "Peek a Boob" has much to offer any reader connected to the breast cancer experience.
Dana Tramba R.N.Author of Making Peace with the Pieces of My Lifewww.Dandystories.com
"In this book about surviving breast cancer, Stutchman captures the fragility of life through her expressive, beautiful writing. As she navigates through her often-poignant journey, you can feel her fears, her brief doubt of faith, and her uncertainties about her future. The love and importance of her family is ever present. I was delighted to see the chapter written by her sister. Her candidness about her intimacy with her husband spoke to a real situation many may not have considered. While it is just one person's experience, the author's presentation brings the reader a feeling of candid reality. There is truly a valuable and possibly humorous take away from her story. I recommend this book for any woman, at any age, who is diagnosed with breast cancer."
---Jodi Cooper, Susan G. Komen® Volunteer-Event Committee Chairperson
"Three of the most frightening words one can ever hear are: YOU HAVE CANCER. Medical books and journals provide all kinds of facts and figures, such as staging, grading, treatments, outcomes, and survival rates, which are all important. In this well-written book, Shelley Malicote Stutchman shares her feelings and experiences, from the first suspicious mammogram to ringing the cancer-free bell with her fianc©. This was followed by the whys, the what ifs, and worries of cancer recurrence. Shelley speaks of hope and faith in that order and gives a wonderful definition of both. Her journey in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is both enlightening, very personal, and scary for anyone who has breast cancer or any other type of cancer. Shelley explains how her treatment was multifaceted to include physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual experiences. In the last chapter, the male perspective is given. Early diagnosis and treatment are the best keys to survival in this all too common and dreaded disease. This book teaches one that knowledge is power and suggests that one should not be hubris while navigating through available treatment options."
---Michael B. Scott, D.O., Physician and Surgeon, Retired
