Overview

Nominated in Scotland's National Book Awards In this searing, frank and funny memoir, Catherine Simpson describes what it's been like to live in her woman's body, and toreach the realisationthat all that time she'd spent trying to change herbody to conform - often to unattainable standards - could be seen from a completely differentperspective. By the time she reached her fifties, Catherine Simpson and her body had gone through a lot together-from period pain and early menopause to shaming and harassment. But there had been success, joy, love, and laughter too: far more freedoms than her mother had, a fulfilling family life and career, and even the promise of further gains for her daughters. So when a cancer diagnosis upends her life, Catherine is forced to reflect on her body, then and now. From growing up on a farm where veterinarians were more common than doctors, and where illness was ""a nuisance,"" she finds herself faced with the nuisance of a lifetime. One Body is the demystifying, relatable, often hilarious and sometimes hair-raising story of how Catherine navigates her treatment and takes stock of the emotions and reflections it provokes. And how she comes to appreciate the skin she is in-to be grateful for her body and all that it does and is.

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9781913393342

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Reviews

'A joyful, angry, beautiful air-punch of a book, and so truthful - I felt as though each word was written on my own body.' -- Kirstin Innes 'A vivid framing of the mystery, confusion and even terror tangled up with our young bodies in the '70s.' -- Mary Anne Hobbs 'By turns poignant and searingly honest, this book is a wise and witty reflection on all that it means to have a body.' -- Claire Askew I love Catherine Simpson's work ... One Body is ... the story of what it is like to exist in a woman's body. It's fresh, insightful and moving, and it's a book that every man should read. -- Graeme Macrae Burnet 'She explores the idea that functionality is connected to an individual's worth with grace and dark humour.' -- Irish Times 'Funny, bold, wry and, at times, enraging in the best possible way, this exploration ... has an incredible energising quality ... imbued with spirit and a real passion for life.' -- Mary Paulson-Ellis

'A vivid framing of the mystery, confusion and even terror tangled up with our young bodies in the '70s.' -- Mary Anne Hobbs

Author Information

Catherine Simpson is a novelist, journalist, poet, and short story writer. Her memoir When I Had a Little Sister was published by Fourth Estate in 2019 to great acclaim. In 2013 she received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. Her work has been published in various anthologies and magazines, published online and broadcast on BBC Radio. Born on an English dairy farm, she is now based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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