I have loved these anthologies, Don’t Call Me Crazy, from Algonquin and Body Talk is no exception! This non-fiction anthology touches on the lived experiences of our bodies. The ways they don’t feel like ours, the pain we feel, and the insecurities we face. It’s a beautiful anthology with some of my favorites. Keep reading my book review to find out all the reasons I loved this anthology!
Summary
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
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Body Talk discusses the ways our body shapes our world, opportunities, and mindset. The ways it alters our perceptions of what is possible. It’s a genuine, and raw, discussion of the bodies which house us. The suffering and pain we feel which we cannot put into words. The ways our body feels alien, disconnected from ourselves. All the fears, doubt, guilt, resentment, and anger boiling within us. When it’s a misrepresentation of ourselves. In a world that sees people as pieces, identities, images from a glance, it’s
an important anthology about self-acceptance in a world of lived experiences.
There are comics, pieces of art, and FAQ sections throughout the book which not only provide information, but a variety of different ways to experiences these messages. A few stories brought me to tears in the ways we are made to feel like our body is not our own. They made me ache with shared resonance. These insecurities and questions that can stick with us forever. And they can end up controlling us. Body Talk is an anthology about bravery, agency, and love. There is such a variety of different stories from beauty standards, queer questioning, chronic illness, trans stories, disability, and more. It also includes further reading!
I cannot recommend Body Talk highly enough, it’s educational, inspiring, and full of emotion. Find Body Talk on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.
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