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I will admit when I first started to see the links coming in for the new "book" My Beautiful Mommy, I thought it must be a hoax. Certainly, no one would put something like this out there and be serious. Well, serious it is. It is self published by the vanity publisher Big Tent Books and written by a Florida plastic surgeon and father of four. He says he wrote the book because many of his patients are having "mommy makeovers" to fix saggy
breasts and slack tummies a few years after childbirth and they were concerned about what to tell their kids.
From the Big Tent Website:
PRE-ORDER Today! Books will ship in time for Mother's Day!
Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a renowned plastic surgeon, wrote My Beautiful Mommy
to help patients explain their transformation to their children. The
story guides children through Mommy's surgery and healing process in a
friendly, nonthreatening way.
Non-threatening to whom? With excerpts like the following, they come off as pretty threatening to the young children--girls especially-- that this book is aimed at. The following is an excerpt from the book.
"As I got older, my body stretched and I couldn't fit into my
clothes anymore. Dr Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel
better," the mother tells her daughter.Her nose surgery, she explains, will make her look "not just different, my dear -- prettier!."
Because we all know that childbirth increases Mom's need for a nose job, right? And that the only way to really be pretty is to have perky breasts, taught tummies and a nose job.
Newsweek describes the book in this way:
“My Beautiful Mommy” is aimed at kids ages four to seven
and features a plastic surgeon named Dr. Michael (a musclebound
superhero type) and a girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck, a nose job
and breast implants. Before her surgery the mom explains that she is
getting a smaller tummy: “You see, as I got older, my body stretched
and I couldn’t fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to
help fix that and make me feel better.” Mom comes home looking like a
slightly bruised Barbie doll with demure bandages on her nose and
around her waist.The text doesn’t mention the breast augmentation, but the
illustrations intentionally show Mom’s breasts to be fuller and higher.
“I tried to skirt that issue in the text itself,” says Salzhauer. “The
tummy lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin
and can’t fit into your clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a
six-year-old.”The book doesn’t explain exactly why the mother is redoing her nose
post-pregnancy. Nonetheless, Mom reassures her little girl that the new
nose won’t just look “different, my dear—prettier!”
Jill of Writes Like She Talks actually emailed the author of this book.
Dear Dr. Salzhauer,
I’m a freelance writer who recently read the Newsweek article about
a book you author. I recognized the publisher as a vanity publisher.Could you please tell me how you and your book came to the attention of Newsweek magazine?
I’ve read that your book does not appear to be available on Amazon
nor does it appear to have an ISBN. If that is true, how will your book
be sold and how will people purchase it?Thank you.
Stayed tuned to her blog for what Jill learns about this book and this author.
Mamarazzi had a completely different angle with this story. They share the story of Alicia Douvall who claims to have had over 50 plastic surgeries. Twelve of those surgeries have been on her breasts alone. She's has another one planned. Okay. She is an adult. But here is where I become more disturbed. She has a 12 year old daughter, Georgia, who is a beautiful young lady. But what does Georgia want for her 13th birthday? A Kate Moss perfume, an iPhone and a boob job. She is only 12 years old. In a quote to Closer magazine, Alicia explains where she stands on the issue of her daughter's desired boob job:
Alicia said she will get her daughter a boob job, but not until she turns 16.
"I think a 16-year-old with a nice, sexy figure will do really well
as a model as long as she's managed well. That's why I'm happy for
Georgia to have a boob job because it will give her a
