I Finally Learned To Love Myself

by June Myrick
(Alabama, USA)

I had both of my breasts removed when I was 30 years old. My first mammogram was positive and breast cancer was rampant in my family. I initially had implants put in but they hardened and so after much soul searching, I had them removed and decided to accept me just as I was. My first husband was into porn and I felt so unloved and unacceptable to him. After our divorce I would often stand naked in front of the mirror and speak out loud to myself.

I wrote, "I am beautiful and beauty has nothing to do with body parts" on my mirror. I read everything and watched movies that spoke of strong women. I kept a journal of all of my thoughts, good or bad.

Through the next few years I could feel the change coming over me. I knew that I could never love or be loved until I could love myself.

One day I met a man who came to visit his mother at the assisted living facility where I worked. We became friends. One day I asked him if all men liked "boobs". He said, "yeah, most do, but me-I'm a butt man! But to me the most important quality in a woman is honesty." I looked him straight in the eyes and told him that I had had my breasts removed at age 30. He told me later that he knew that day that he loved me!

We were married a year later. I continue to seek to be a strong woman in my every life. No matter what comes, I will be able to stand strong!