RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewPickert...was diagnosed with a particularly grim form of breast cancer at the age of 35. Soon thereafter, she set out to write a cultural and scientific history of the disease, using narratives of her own experience to anchor her research. Such a whopping undertaking could have easily turned maudlin, strident or just plain eye-glazing; instead, Pickert has produced an evenhanded, powerful and unflinching page-turner ... At the end of her book, Pickert falters. Reflecting on the future, she writes, \'I am optimistic that this progress will continue.\' It’s a statement that feels a little too pat, too cheery pink ribbon, coming from an author who has just effectively made the case for complete transparency, informed decision making and healthy skepticism. But it’s a minor misstep in a book that should be required reading for anyone interested in, as Pickert writes, \'a disease so common that to know something about it is to know something about humanity itself.\'
