Episode Details

When Kate Gies was born without an ear on one side, a plastic surgeon told her parents that he could “fix” her. In her new memoir, It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished, Kate recounts her harrowing journey through numerous surgeries, many of which failed — and questions what it really means to “fix” a body. Kate joins Mattea Roach to talk about blurry medical boundaries, growing up with a congenital difference and pushing back against oppressive beauty standards.

If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:

• Amy Lin: Widowed at 31, she looks for the beauty in grief
• Jenny Heijun Wills: Sharing her journey of transracial adoption and self-discovery in her moving essay collection