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Ginny Jordan
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Clear Cut: One Woman's Journey of Life in the Body Hardcover – September 25, 2012

by Ginny Jordan (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
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How much can we lose and still remain whole?

In the course of her life, Ginny Jordan has been diagnosed with breast cancer, undergone surgeries and chemotherapy, experienced debilitating vertigo, and other conditions; at the same time as she has been a daughter, wife, mother of three, and member of a large, active family.

In prose that is startling and evocative, witty and generous, Clear Cut explores biographically, symbolically, and culturally the meanings of nine different parts of the body, of how much we can lose and still remain whole and know who we are. Jordan mourns for and celebrates the wisdom and beauty of body and soul as they struggle to find endurance in the face of multiple setbacks, and the courage to confront loss and separation and celebrate life and community instead.

Audio from the book is available for listening here: lanternbooks.com/audio/ovaries.mp3
Previous page
  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Lantern Books
  4. Publication date
    September 25, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    5.39 x 0.79 x 8.27 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1590563166
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1590563168
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A masterpiece: Ginny Jordan takes the unspeakable our tortured mortality and fashions something exquisite, joyful, breathless, uplifting. A paen to Life, to the ecstasy of being alive and fully aware no matter what the terms. This book goes to the heart of what it means to be a woman. Engagingly written, often breathtaking in its use of language and insights into the human condition, Clear Cut leaves us sparkling with love of life. --Rupert Isaacson, author of The Horse Boy

Ginny Jordan's unsparing and exquisite mapping of the landscape of devastation is rendered navigable by the humor, passion, honesty, and adventurous spirit that permeate her writing. Her illumination of nuance and detail shows how none of us escapes with our attachments intact: if they are not shed in the course of living, then they will be surrendered at the threshold of death. Ginny's life experience and her gifts as a writer will take you on a transformative journey that is all about letting go and letting light in. --Nina Rothschild Utne, co-founder and former owner, Utne Reader, founder of Futurefit

Ginny Jordan bears witness to what it is like to inhabit a recalcitrant body and yet transcend its pinioning limits. Step by step, wingbeat by wingbeat, she moves in body and spirit through this world, each day re-committing herself to making it better. --Marc Barasch, author of The Healing Path and Field Notes on the Compassionate Life

Ginny Jordan's unsparing and exquisite mapping of the landscape of devastation is rendered navigable by the humor, passion, honesty, and adventurous spirit that permeate her writing. Her illumination of nuance and detail shows how none of us escapes with our attachments intact: if they are not shed in the course of living, then they will be surrendered at the threshold of death. Ginny's life experience and her gifts as a writer will take you on a transformative journey that is all about letting go and letting light in. --Nina Rothschild Utne, co-founder and former owner, Utne Reader, founder of Futurefit

Ginny Jordan bears witness to what it is like to inhabit a recalcitrant body and yet transcend its pinioning limits. Step by step, wingbeat by wingbeat, she moves in body and spirit through this world, each day re-committing herself to making it better. --Marc Barasch, author of The Healing Path and Field Notes on the Compassionate Life

About the Author

Ginny Jordan, MFA, is a writer, poet, and psychotherapist. She is co-founder of BeadforLife, a non-profit organization that works with women in Uganda to help them raise themselves out of poverty. Ginny has three children and has recently become a grandmother. She lives and works in Boulder, Colorado.

See a Q&A with Ginny here: lanternbooks.com/excerpt.html?cat=3&id=9781590563168&expid=806

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lantern Books (September 25, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1590563166
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590563168
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.39 x 0.79 x 8.27 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

About the author

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Ginny Jordan

Ginny Jordan

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Ginny Jordan, MFA is a writer, poet and psychotherapist. She won a third place book award for her memoir, Clear Cut, as an independent publisher. She is co-founder of Beadforlife, a non profit organization working with women in Uganda to help them raise themselves out of poverty (beadforlife.org).

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

David H. Hofmann
5.0 out of 5 stars A stunningly beautiful story of great gain through great loss.
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2012
Verified Purchase
Clear Cut was one of the most deeply moving books I've read in a long time. Ms. Jordan writes of dealing with multiple bouts of cancer as well as other major health issues in a way that is deeply honest, candid and incredibly dignified. Any one of the battles she faced would be enough for any one lifetime and yet, for Ms. Jordan, the challenges kept coming. I have not been so saddened and at the same time so uplifted in the way I was reading this book. Ms. Jordan takes us into her intimate confidence as she recounts how she and her family faced the many struggles she had with her health. It can be hard reading about what she faced yet it is the way she and her family took on the challenges that makes the book so incredibly positive.

In addition to its extremely powerful subject matter, Clear Cut just happens to be a beautifully written book. A poet as well as a writer, Ms. Jordan intersperses her narrative with poetry in a way that deepens our understanding of her painful journey. She also draws upon her dreams as another way of letting us into her process. What emerges is a story of great gains achieved through a series of losses. Far from retreating into self-pity, Ms. Jordan has devoted her life to helping others on a global scale by addressing, among other issues, the plague of HIV facing African women. In the midst of her personal challenges, she founded a program, Beadforlife, that enables African women stricken with HIV to start their own businesses and provide for their families and communities.

Anyone reading Clear Cut will find themselves taking stock of what they have in their life with renewed clarity. Temptations abound to feel sorry for oneself and overwhelmed by the events in today's world. Ms. Jordan gives us an invitation to see challenges differently and to focus on what it is in our lives that has the most heart and meaning.
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Danya in Boulder CO
5.0 out of 5 stars remarkable story, beautifully crafted
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2012
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Ms. Jordan has offered us an exquisitely written memoir that takes us through the artistry and uniqnueness of its writing, well beyond the genre itself. She takes the reader on a journey through her experiences of illness, loss adventure and triumph in a way that is deeply personal and at the same time infinitely universal. This is not a "this happened and then this happened" story. It is deeply evocative prose that has the quality of fine poetry. It draws on the author's evident depth of heart and spirit as through the challenges she continues and develops her art and her service in the world. This book is a journey that took me to the depths of both my own loss and my own hope - for myself, my loved ones and for the world. It is a journey of courage - but in no way self serving, aggrandizing, or romanticizing. I felt compassion of myself and for all of us.Its hard to express - but to find such challenges described so unflinchingly and without a speck of self pity was mesmerizing. Ms Jordan holds nothing back and through this invites the reader to transform hardship to art and challenge to inspiration. This book is for anyone who lives fine and honest writing and for those facing physical challenges it will become a beloved friend who reminds be about courage and love.
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C. Bloomer
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive!
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2012
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Ms. Jordan has crafted a deeply honest piece of writing. I stayed up late for two nights reading "Clear Cut" and found it impossible not to be moved by her beautiful words and her extraordinary resilience in defying the burdens of illness. I applaud her challenge to endure, her courage to grow and learn, and most especially her generosity to share her journey with others. For starters, I loved the the title and all the ways it can be interpreted. I loved the chapters divided into body parts and the exquisite graphite drawings that accompany each one. I loved, too, the many interesting asides wrapped within each chapter. The author really thought about how best to organize her book from its intriguing prologue to its lovely epilogue to all the chapters in between. The full impact is compelling, powerful, and very touching. When a person writes what he/she knows with great skill and care, the story will shine. Ms. Jordan has done exactly that!
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Joan F. Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars Ginny Jordan has written about physical adversity from the soul ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
Ginny Jordan has written about physical adversity from the soul of a poet without an ounce of self pity. She explores her own life with the people she loves and faces the harshest genetic inheritance with uncommon bravery. Though her struggle with cancer is hers alone, she writes with such originality about life forces that you may well discover new perspectives in yourself. I did, and I am grateful.
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Priyash
5.0 out of 5 stars clear cut
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2012
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in stunningly lyrical prose, Ginny Jordan confronts her readers with the underlying question of what it is to be 'whole' in the face of ongoing loss.
this is a hard book, it requires something of the reader at every turn, but the sheer beauty of the writing helps the reader to stay present,
reap the rewards of this journey that is both achingly personal and utterly transpersonal.
One person found this helpful
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Every Day is a Good Day
1.0 out of 5 stars Book had awful labels all over and in it
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014
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The book had huge 4x2 ugly labels on the cover and inside on the first page that are not removable without deteriorating the book. It is otherwise in very good and like new condition, which is what I thought I purchased.. It was fulfilled by Amazon. For the price I can probably do better at other local sources and see what I am getting.
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Debra Delaney
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you.
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2016
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Ginny, it was nice to connect with you again through your beautiful prose. Your openness to share your ongoing journey is a gift I treasured. All the best to you, and blessings on that long, long life. P.S. My last name used to be Green❤️
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Inveterate Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Honest portrayal
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013
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Ms Jordan has endured more assaults on her body than anyone should have to with grace and honesty. It is a story of survival. Anyone with cancer, chronic illness or friends and family with same will learn from her beautifully written memoir.
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