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Body Work
Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative | Melissa Febos
8 posts | 9 read | 13 to read
Memoir meets craft masterclass in this daring, honest, psychologically insightful exploration of how we think and write about intimate experiencesa 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 of memoir and master class, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storytellers life and the questions which run through it. How might we go about capturing on the page the relationships that have formed us? How do we write about our bodies, their desires and traumas? What does it mean for an authors way of writing, or living, to be dismissed as navel-gazingor else hailed as so brave, so raw? And to whom, in the end, do our most intimate stories belong? Drawing on her own path from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professorvia addiction and recovery, sex work and academiaMelissa Febos has created a captivating guide to the writing life, and a brilliantly unusual exploration of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence. Candid and inspiring, Body Work will empower readers and writers alike, offering ideasand occasional notes of cautionto anyone who has ever hoped to see themselves in a story.
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review
jdiehr
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Mehso-so

If you write about your past - traumas and all - this book would be a great inspiration.

Writing can be a great catharsis.

dabbe I love your typewriter note holder! 🤩🤩🤩 1y
jdiehr @dabbe Isn't it cute?? 1y
31 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

A short audiobook in which Febos encourages writing students to focus on “their truth” and to disregard the words of critics who diminish female experiences in writing. Though I was not the audience for this audiobook, I still gained valuable perspectives that I hadn‘t considered as a person who often consumes memoirs. Would be an excellent read for those considering writing a memoir, which isn‘t me at this point.

Megabooks Stacking for the future, but I think I‘ll stick to reading memoirs for now. 1y
73 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Kazzie
Pickpick

This was good! Not what I expected. But honest and raw at times. She mines her life and her reflections so beautifully

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Sydneypaige
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Books about writing are always a risk for me, and I‘m happy to say this was a worthy risk. Melissa weaves personal stories and her experiences as a writer together seamlessly. The book is conversational about writing, with stories of an exercise taught to a group of students for example, rather than preachy or a master class in book form. A plus for me. Looking forward to reading more from this author including her first memoir!

7 likes2 stack adds
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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Pickpick

I continue to deeply admire Melissa Febos: her beautifully crafted writing, rigorous feminist intellectual work, and her commitment to delving into topics others avoid: writing sex scenes, memoir as a feminized form, her own mistakes / growth as a writer. I suspect I would have gotten a bit more out of this if I was a creative writer myself instead of a reader, but even still a lot of her discussions resonated with me from a readerly perspective.

42 likes1 stack add
review
Bookalong
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Pickpick

5☆A dynamite read mixing memoir and the subject of writing. Febos is an auto read author for me, I enjoy everything she writes and BODY WORK was phenomenal! Febos lays out the art of writing intimately, of bodies, and trauma so smartly. An absolute treasure, I swallowed this book whole! Highly reccomend, it is a fantastic resource on writing. #bookreview

24 likes1 stack add
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BekaReid
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"We do not have to earn our humanity by being any kind of perfect."

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BekaReid
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Finally nice enough weather for some lunch break reading outside!