Book Review: Lopsided, By Merdith Norton

Lopsided: How Having Breast Cancer Can Be Really Distracting

By Meredith Norton

Apparently there is an entire genre of non-fiction books written by sassy lady authors who intend to kick cancer’s butt. I was unaware of this particular nook until I read a (positive) review of Meredith Norton’s memoir, Lopsided: How Having Breast Cancer Can Be Really Distracting, which promised the author had Sedaris-esque stylings. It’s true: Norton spends almost the entirety of the book making the reader giggle at the crazy shenanigans she gets herself into, including the aforementioned breast cancer. I liked Norton from page one: Originally from California, she’s living in Paris with her French husband and toddler son, jobless and a bit of a hypochondriac. A quick trip home to the U.S. reveals the cancer that several French doctors had told her was an infection. She’s effortlessly conversational as she describes the suddenness of such a drastic life change. The real feat, however—besides surviving cancer—is co-mingling the humor and horror of the experience to pull off a book that so captures the everyday of living with this dreadful disease.