After a lifetime in the spotlight, Brooke Shields’ new book, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, (out Jan. 14) is her most provocative yet.
At 59, the star is remarkably candid, about everything from sex to motherhood to claiming agency over her body — including at the doctor’s office.
She writes about an irregular pap smear that led to a “cone biopsy,” a procedure to remove abnormal tissue from the cervix. The pre-cancerous cells were removed — but it was only years later that she learned (from a female doctor) that the aggressive biopsy would make it difficult to conceive due to the scar tissue left behind. That was only the precursor to another medical procedure she underwent that carried unexpected consequences.
Below, read an exclusive excerpt shared with PEOPLE from the chapter titled “No Longer The Punching Bag: A Plea for Self-Advocacy” about the…
