Body Work
Book description
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Memoir meets craft master class in this “daring, honest, psychologically insightful” exploration of how we think and write about intimate experiences—“a must read for anybody shoving a pen across paper or staring into a screen or a past" (Mary Karr)
In this bold and exhilarating mix…
Why read it?
3 authors picked Body Work as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Melissa Febos’ book Body Work provides encouragement to writers who are considering the memoir genre by highlighting the importance of storytelling as central to human experience.
Memoir writing is like magic; unique in its ability to shine a light on stories of survival, perseverance, and resilience. Febos’ book beautifully portrays the power of memoir as a tool to prompt growth, pulling back façades in ways that are both personally empowering and enriching for readers and writers alike.
“We are telling the stories that no one else can tell, and we are giving this proof of our survival to each…
From Vicki's list on the power of memoir writing to promote healing.
This book of essays is part master class, part memoir. Febos writes with laser intelligence about her journey from addict to sex worker to academic. How do we write about our most intimate moments? What happens when such writing is misunderstood, or dismissed? I grew up in rural Scotland, where no one ever talked about sex or longing, and I was dazzled, and inspired by Febos’s examples of what could be put on the page.
From Margot's list on reading and writing fiction.
Melissa Febos is having a moment. Who wouldn’t love a queer feminist firebrand who was once a professional dominatrix and now writes memoir and essays that surge with sensual detail, set your mind in action, and then rip your heart out? She recently won the National Book Critics Circle award for her excellent collection of essays on growing up female, Girlhood. This short book, which followed fast on that one’s tail, brings together four pieces on the craft of personal narrative. If you’re worried you’re a narcissist or opportunist for writing a memoir, or just wallowing in your own…
From Helena's list on to read if you're thinking of writing a memoir.
If you love Body Work...
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Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up…
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