Customer Reviews

The Facelift Diaries: what it's REALLY like to have a facelift

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I sat up that first night and read half way through. I loved the idea and the execution is terrific. It's good to hear both voices, Jill's and Jaedene's, and to know of the differing experiences. And they made me laugh as if we were friends talking together.
Bravo to Jill and Jaedene for being so honest and for sharing their facelift experiences with us. This would be a great book to give to anyone who is even thinking of having facial surgery, a very practical guide to the bumps along the way.

This slim book offers much more than it's title suggests. The two writers who have two distinct voices offer any reader who has ever thought about having a facelift an unvarnished vivid account of their experiences of having facelifts at the same time. They are close friends who also happen to be well respected psychotherapist. They questioned their own motives,in light of their dedication to helping patients get to know their inner lives. Ultimately, their reasons for having cosmetic surgery are not unusual.

What is unique is their honesty. This book is very different than the glossy and so seductive adds that I admit to having read on more than one occasion. They offer a closeup of the gory aftermath and recovery, including the their very different recovery times and the impact of that on their feelings about each other.
While the book is lively as well as practical some information was difficult to think about. Most poignant for me was the long 14 month period of Jill Scarff's recovery. She had to face the reactions of her own children, peers who didn't recognize her, not least that she didn't look like the self she recognized when she looked at herself in the mirror.

The the book is direct, accessible and they write with wit and humor. They also offer a lot of tips which are well organized for the reader who is about to have a face lift aand for their loved ones.

In America, where a youthful appearance is so highly valued, it is nice to read a book written by two women who have obviously worked on their "insides", and helped many others to do the same, before deciding to work on their "outsides." This book offers an absorbing honest account of their experience, with no vested interest in the reader's decision. It is a timely topic, and anyone who is thinking about having a facelift would benefit from reading The Facelift Diaries.

I am happily recovering from my own facelift which I had a month ago but only discovered this book a week ago...... I read it with great interest, comparing my own experiences with those of the authors, and I found it very honest, insightful, humorous, informative and touching. I especially appreciated their individual philosophies with respect to aging, self image and the importance of recognizing and understanding the variety of responses of family, friends and the world at large. I have given a copy of this book to my own surgeon because I think it would be very valuable to anyone considering a facelift or about to undergo one.....there is much information that I would have loved to have had before I started!

Using a clever approach to share with readers these two life-altering experiences, the authors present an "eye-opening" glimpse into an often minimalized surgery. A terrific read and informative book to keep in your library.

I thought the book was really great. The two writers write this diary as they go through the whole ordeal and therefore, you get the truth of their feelings. It made me think twice about when and if I will ever have my face done.

How can you do a book like this without before, during, and after photos? I think Jill was not happy with her results and didn't want to show her "face". Also, there is no mention of their ages which would have been very helpful. And - these women had much, much more than a facelift - laser, brow-lift, eyes done and maybe more. This book was a major disappointment!

Is this Self-Published. It needs an editor desperately! I have two other books that were terrific, including LIFT. I got some preparation info from this. But I really had to search for it.
1) There are NO photos, "Before", "After", NADA! And in a book where the writers keep referring to their results and the reader needs to see SOMETHING, that is an odd decision. One writer has a SMALL stamp-sized photo on the back that is clear, but (without a BEFORE) uninformative. The other has a fuzzy photo that looks like a cropped personal shot. But this book is about "How DID you look, HOW DO YOU LOOK?"

2) I wanted to gauge recovers speeds. Instead of numbering EACH entry by the Day #, they just do Monday, Tuesday, Etc. Every now and then one might refer to WHAT DAY it is, what week! Which puts the burden on the READER to note when EACH ONE did her surgery and COUNT. Uh, nooooo.

3) I will never ever get my surgery done at the same time as a friend after reading this. Because there was a modicum of discouragement, comparison and competition (and by the way...A LIST of the procedures EACH DID would have helped the reader to gauge whether comparisons were even appropriate)I had the feeling that each of them would have had a happier experience separately; that each was holding themselves and their healing back in a subtle - and perhaps unconscious way - to not make the other feel bad.

But all that means is that the READER gets a suffering, sad, neglected,dejected experience. I have heard stories where the recovery was daunting, perhaps a bit longer than expected, but not HORRIBLE!

If you are in good health, and have a positive outlook, and spend the first night in professional care, just go to the terrific chats rooms and blogs and SITES that share without all the painful sturm und drang.

I don't know - as a reader - if it was worth it to them to have gone thru it because THERE ARE NO BEFORE PHOTOS! DUH!