The Remarkable Life of the Skin: An Intimate Journey Across Our Surface – Monty Lyman

The short version 

I thought I was picking up a book about skin. I thought I would learn all about how it works on cellular level or by taking one layer of skin at a time, but what I found was a book about how we see our skin, how it interacts with the outside world and how cultural pressures affect the skin.  

I certainly didn’t expect to learn so much in such an enjoyable way. Facts are interspersed with stories of how diseases affect whichever aspect of the skin is currently the topic. My major take home facts from reading this book are use sunscreen and drink plenty of water (as dictated by your thirst).  

The long version 

As I was reading this book, I was struck by the feeling of being invited to a dinner party full of dermatologists. In the predinner small talk, I am told about how the skin works and the different layers, a little dumbed down but then I am not a doctor, let alone a dermatologist, and this information will be crucial for the next two and a half hours (or however long this hypothetical dinner party lasts). Then, as food is served, we go on a beautiful journey of anecdotes each building upon the other giving me an overarching, if not solid foundation of each subject. Finally, with after dinner drinks, we get to what they really want to talk about, how society views skin, the psychological implications of skin and disease, even the religious aspect. As I leave the party, I come away with a new found appreciation for skin, the largest organ of the human body, and until this moment I feel that I have never really seen it.  

Monty Lyman has written a book that I thoroughly enjoyed however the first chapter is hard going but I would urge you to persevere. The first chapter is necessary to appreciate the rest of the book, it introduces the different layers of the skin, different cells and their roles within the skin, and you can see that a lot of effort has been put in to make it as easy to follow as possible (including diagrams).  

After the first chapter, the others settle into a pattern of using real world examples to highlight information about how the skin works. I love to have facts, but I enjoyed the stories that humanised each condition and were woven throughout. Hearing about all the things that could go wrong with your skin certainly makes you appreciate it so much more.  

I like to think of the book as having two parts, the first half deals with more defined topics: layers of the skin, microbial colonies of our skin, the intimate connection between your gut and skin, sunlight (spoiler: wear sunscreen) and aging. Although it was littered with scientific caveats it felt like something solid that you could get your teeth into. 

However, when you reach the second half things start to get a little hazy. The second half of the book focuses, not just on the functions of skin, but how we interact with it, how it is manipulated, revered and abused. It begins with touch, that is a lot more complicated than I ever gave it credit for, then onto the brain, which has a lot more influence on skin conditions than I previously thought. Noticing a pattern? Skin is complicated.  

Reaching the final couple of chapters, you can almost hear the editor struggling to work out how to define the chapter, how can we group this under a chapter title? Each is very interesting and the text flows until you realise that a chapter on Social Skin had spent most of the time discussing tattoos (for which I have a new found respect) and then find yourself struggling to find a leper colony in the Skin that Separates Us, but finally we get to the chapter you feel Lyman has been building to, Spiritual Skin, here we learn how skin has transcended simple function into having religious value.  

Throughout the book Lyman’s shear enthusiasm shines through alongside his frustrations. You can almost imagine him throwing up his hands in annoyance when he has to cover beauty. Why do people only look after their skin and apply sunscreen if they think it will reduce their attractiveness and lead to premature aging? Skin cancer will kill you! Even with this, it is his empathy for his fellow human that comes through, by the end of the book, the sentence where Lyman reveals that within the same week he spoke to a liver surgeon and gang member about what it was like the first time they cut open another person, you find are not only unsurprised, but find yourself exclaiming that of course he did!  

Let’s put it this way, I would gladly invite Lyman to any dinner party I was throwing as long as he agreed to talk about skin, and I will be keeping an eye out for any more books he might write in the future. 

Judging a Book by its Cover

Now finally as an afterthought I am going to mention the cover. I know, never judge a book by it cover and all that, but I do personally enjoy a beautiful looking book. These days, when you can easily buy e-books, the cover and quality of experience makes you go for the physical version. Never mind the consideration of how it is going to look on your bookcase after you have finished reading it! 

The version of the book that I have has an intriguing cover, it is off-white in colour with six hand prints spanning the front all with different skin tones. Personally, I really like the cover, it passes the bookcase test, but I feel like the same cover could be used for a novel about race. I suppose it is designed to make the book approachable and not off-putting, perhaps for this same reason Dr is omitted from Lyman’s name, but for anyone who wasn’t expecting a popular science book I think title and content are a bit of a giveaway.  

Saying that, I love the simplicity, so many times when reading this book you are faced with the how important touch is and how skin is a visual representation of complex processes are is going on beneath the surface, and it that sense the cover completely suits the book.