Title: Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy
Author: Kelly Jensen (editor)
Genre: Non-Fiction, Anthology
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 18, 2020
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
It’s time to bare it all about bodies!
We all experience the world in a body, but we don’t usually take the time to explore what it really means to have and live within one. Just as every person has a unique personality, every person has a unique body, and every body tells its own story.
In Body Talk, thirty-seven writers, models, actors, musicians, and artists share essays, lists, comics, and illustrations—about everything from size and shape to scoliosis, from eating disorders to cancer, from sexuality and gender identity to the use of makeup as armor. Together, they contribute a broad variety of perspectives on what it’s like to live in their particular bodies—and how their bodies have helped to inform who they are and how they move through the world.
Come on in, turn the pages, and join the celebration of our diverse, miraculous, beautiful bodies!
Review:
In this anthology, 37 writers talk about different body issues. Some of these pieces of writing were universal, like reproductive health, while others were about specific disabilities.
This book was informative and enjoyable. I’m quite squeamish and don’t typically like reading medical texts, so some of these essays were difficult to get through. However, I learned a lot about muscular diseases and scoliosis, which was referenced in a number of pieces.
Between the articles were some FAQ. These included things like the use of the word “fat,” and how to use identity first language when talking about disabilities. That means you say “a disabled person” rather than “a person with a disability.”
These pieces were written by a variety of different writers. They were celebrities, young adult authors, and doctors. It was great to see these first hand accounts of body issues, as well as the medical science to back it up. Some of the pieces were previously published elsewhere. They were good pieces of writing, but I’m not sure why they were included with original works.
This was a really great book for everyone to read!
Thank you Algonquin Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
[Don’t] Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health by Kelly Jensen (editor)
The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce by Angie Manfredi (editor)
About the author:
Kelly Jensen is a former librarian and current editor at Book Riot and her own popular book blog, Stacked. She’s the editor of two highly-acclaimed YA anthologies, Here We Are: Feminism For The Real World and (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start The Conversation About Mental Health. Her writing has been featured in Bust Magazine, Fortune, Bustle, and more. When not working with words, she teaches yoga, hangs out with a motley crew of pets, and enjoys all of the black licorice no one else wants. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen and her website kellybjensen.com.
Have you read Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy? What did you think of it?
This sounds really interesting! As someone who grew up with scoliosis, I’d love to see how these authors talk about it, as well as all the other topics. Will add to my library list!
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