Author/narrator Melissa Febos delivers a rousing manifesto on the transformative power of personal storytelling. This part-memoir, part-writing guide is presented as a series of candid essays that explore writing about traumatic experiences. Febos draws listeners in with her clear, unapologetic narration of practical advice about how to write about ourselves and/or others. She presents examples from her own work and from other writers in a way that provides encouragement and guidance. While Febos’s writing may at times come across as academic, her heartfelt performance and insight provide broad resonance for both writers and nonwriters alike. For fans of writing tips, the audio format may best be paired with the print version as Febos’s work inspires note-taking in abundance. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative
Narrated by Melissa Febos
Melissa FebosUnabridged — 3 hours, 35 minutes
Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative
Narrated by Melissa Febos
Melissa FebosUnabridged — 3 hours, 35 minutes
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Overview
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 author's way of writing, or living, to be dismissed as "navel-gazing"-or 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 professor-via addiction and recovery, sex work and academia-Melissa 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 ideas-and occasional notes of caution-to anyone who has ever hoped to see themselves in a story.
Editorial Reviews
★ 12/06/2021
Memoirist Febos (Girlhood) assembles four whip-smart essays on the power of personal writing, which mark her “attempts to describe the ways that writing is integrated into the fundamental movements of my life: political, corporeal, spiritual, psychological, and social.” “In Praise of Navel Gazing” is a defense of memoirs focused on trauma, which she suggests are often seen as “gauche”: “the resistance to memoirs about trauma is always in part... a resistance to movements of social justice.” In “Mind Fuck,” she details a series of “unrules” for writing about sex: “sex doesn’t have to be good” and “writing about sex doesn’t have to include sex at all.” “A Big Shitty Party” shares hard-learned insights on writing about real people in nonfiction (when people give Febos permission to include them, “what they actually mean is that I have their permission to write anything about them that they can imagine I might”), and “The Return” makes a case that personal writing can help one deal with painful experiences. Febos’s fellow scribes will appreciate her shrewd takes on the intersection of craft and life, and even nonwriters will enjoy the artistry on display throughout. This is a wonder. Agent: Ethan Bassoff, Ross Yoon Agency. (Mar.)
A NPR Best Book of the Year
An Electric Literature Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year
Named a Most Anticipated Book by Bustle, Marie Claire, Glamour UK, Autostraddle, NET-A-PORTER, AnOther Magazine, Electric Literature, Lit Hub, and The Millions
"A welcome 'holistic approach' to writing and healing . . . Body Work grants writers rare permission to take themselves, and their pain, seriously . . . It is satisfying to read such unity of vision." —Noor Qasim, The New York Times Book Review
"Melissa Febos is at the vanguard of this particular boom in confessional writing, and she is the guide I point my students to when they want to write in this style . . . Body Work, I learned over its 192 taut pages, is an explanation of why stories like Febos’s are powerful . . . Body Work helped me learn how to work alongside and through my ongoing pain by forging a creative outlet. I’m grateful to Febos for the lesson in how to do it." —Adam Dalva, The Atlantic
"Although the essays . . . are all personal narratives themselves (as opposed to straight-up craft essays with clear dos and don'ts for the aspiring or practicing writer), they also provide practical and philosophical arguments for the expansiveness that such narratives allow and for their power in the world . . . Febos encourages her readers to tell their stories, to write them, for themselves or others. In this way, Body Work, is in itself an example of the strength of personal narrative; it's also an argument for how such narratives inevitably create space for community as well as a freer self." —Ilana Masad, NPR
"This original, lyrical collection weaves memory and teaching—about craft, about trauma and healing, about social justice—into an ode to personal writing that couldn’t come at a more critical time . . . Illuminating . . . This is a book that explores self-reflection as a path to rebirth." —Jean Guerrero, Los Angeles Times
"Targeted to the writer who fears their personal narrative would be seen as self-indulgent, hurtful to others, or simply not worthy of their time and talent . . . I found myself underlining passage after passage, eager to read them aloud to my own nonfiction students who oohed and ahhed in recognition . . . Generous-hearted . . . Wise . . . Empowering." —Alysia Abbott, The Boston Globe
"Champions the transformative act of writing by way of personal wounds: secrets, traumas, vulnerabilities, and non-conformities. Just as powerfully, [Febos] reckons with the noxious assumption that we’re not worthy of telling our stories, hindering our instincts of exploration and release . . . Febos channels empathy—which she believes every emerging writer should practice and receive—into the emboldening cri de coeur that is Body Work." —Sarah Moroz, Elle
“Piercing . . . Prepare to rave about this book to everyone you've ever met, seriously." —Lucy Morgan, Glamour UK, A Most Anticipated Book
"Contains multitudes . . . In Body Work, Febos offers a compelling rebuttal of the accusation that a memoir is simply a diary in print . . . Body Work asks the fundamental questions with which our literature, and our culture, are currently grappling. Which version of the story is yours, which is mine, which is true? Is there room in our American house for more than one story, or more than one version of the same story?" —Meredith Maran, Oprah Daily
"Body Work is a riveting read full of encouragement and inspiration that will drown out your inner critic and help you see that your story is valid and worth writing." —Bust, Adrienne Urbanski
"A compelling case for the transformative power of language and storytelling." —Sarah Neilson, Shondaland
"A blend of master class and memoir, [Febos] defends the aesthetic and social value of personal writing. Weaving together anecdotes and allusions to literary, psychological, and religious works, as well as advice she refined while teaching graduate workshops, Febos shows how treating sex writing as taboo upholds oppressive conventions." —Maddie Crum, Vulture
"Navigates the relationship between mind and body, how they are less separated than we think, and how our bodies dictate the way we remember and tell stories. A craft book at its core, the ideas presented will invoke thoughts about process for writers, but it's an insightful read whether you're a writer or not." —Kaitlin Stevens, BuzzFeed
"A bright guiding light for anyone who’s ever felt ashamed or afraid of telling their story . . . Whether Febos is touching on the tricky territory of writing about other people or telling complicated, contradictory truths or about sex writing as a site where we often lay bare the harmful beliefs we have internalized, she never doubts—and indeed, actively affirms—the necessity of memoir." —Sarah Neilson, them
"You needn’t be a writer to be inspired and educated by Body Work. The author’s razor-sharp insights are pertinent to anyone who wants to excavate their own truths; interrogate their traumas and their shame; and, especially, take ownership of their narratives . . . Whether you wish to write to publish or to simply to bear witness and feel heard, there’s much in Body Work that will validate your aspirations and inform your process. Febos inspires and encourages and insists not only that personal narratives are valuable but also that creating and sharing them are imperative. If you’ve been shamed, made vulnerable, been traumatized, told that your story isn’t yours to tell, Body Work will speak to you." —B.K. Jackson, Severance
"[Febos's] ask, and the one that justifies the book’s use of 'radical' in its subtitle, is not just that her reader become a writer, but rather that she become a kind person who also writes books. By this I mean someone who has thought through her own motives for living the way she does; for narrating her life the way that she does; and who has worked hard at neither living out, nor writing down for someone else, the narratives that constrict, disempower, or shame." —Elizabeth Barber, The Rumpus
"An articulate call for understanding writing, especially autobiographical writing, as part of a larger liberatory politics, one that relies as much on deep personal introspection, as on collective and aesthetic engagement." —Amanda Montei, Electric Literature
"Rigorous and thoughtful, deeply wise and generous . . . I knew I wouldn’t be alone in feeling like it really was written for me, so perfectly did it answer ethical, creative, and practical writing questions that have been swirling in my mind forever." —Lilly Dancyger, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Febos consistently proves her skills as a memoirist. She not only succeeds at revealing herself and emotional truth, but also entertains as she does it. Body Work promises not only to delve into the intimate depths of her experiences in trauma, but also the work of writing itself." –Ian MacAllen, Chicago Review of Books
"A boldly feminist essay collection that explores how autobiographical writing can help one face past regrets and trauma . . . Concise yet weighty . . . These forthright essays make a clear case for writing as (incidentally) therapeutic. Practical and empowering, they prepare would-be writers for an "emotional confrontation with the self." —Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“Whip-smart . . . Shrewd takes on the intersection of craft and life . . . This is a wonder.” —Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed review)
"Crucial . . . Sharp insights from a passionate practitioner and champion of memoir." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A book for both writers and readers who feel like their bodies are telling stories . . . Wide-ranging in its theoretical and historical breadth yet intimate in all ways, Febos’s book offers the tools readers need to identify, access, process, and articulate hard-won stories of trauma and of love that their flesh holds." —Library Journal (starred review)
★ 01/01/2022
Like her memoir Whip Smart, Febos's newest book is not a story about her body; rather, it is written through and with her sexual and physical experiences in such a way that it radically destabilizes boundaries between meaning, intelligibility, corporeality, intimacy, and so much more—all through the practice of storytelling. This is a book for both writers and readers who feel like their bodies are telling stories, even if they do not ever want to put those stories into words. Throughout, Febos shares her own approach to storytelling, with insight on what motivates her to write and what kept her going during the writing process of both Whip Smart and this latest work. Febos says that the path to writing about herself involved reflecting on her past—her years navigating addiction and recovery, her time engaging in sex work, and her studies in an MFA program at Sarah Lawrence before she accepted her current role, in the nonfiction writing program at the University of Iowa. VERDICT Wide-ranging in its theoretical and historical breadth yet intimate in all ways, Febos's book offers the tools readers need to identify, access, process, and articulate hard-won stories of trauma and of love that their flesh holds.—Emily Bowles
Author/narrator Melissa Febos delivers a rousing manifesto on the transformative power of personal storytelling. This part-memoir, part-writing guide is presented as a series of candid essays that explore writing about traumatic experiences. Febos draws listeners in with her clear, unapologetic narration of practical advice about how to write about ourselves and/or others. She presents examples from her own work and from other writers in a way that provides encouragement and guidance. While Febos’s writing may at times come across as academic, her heartfelt performance and insight provide broad resonance for both writers and nonwriters alike. For fans of writing tips, the audio format may best be paired with the print version as Febos’s work inspires note-taking in abundance. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
★ 2021-12-07
A writer known for her candid autobiographical writing about sex, trauma, and female identity lays out the tenets of her craft.
Febos takes no prisoners in this strongly worded manifesto—despite her claim on the first page that it is not a manifesto. In fact, her impassioned theses and proclamations about writing are exactly that. Proceeding from the principle that “writing is a form of freedom more accessible than many and there are forces at work in our society that would like to withhold it from those whose stories most threaten the regimes that govern this society," she turns the charge of "navel-gazing" on its head. She further points out that memoirists do not publish raw therapeutic diaries but crafted literary works with the power to change the world. Her blunt anger is understandable. “At readings I would be billed on posters as MELISSA FEBOS, FORMER DOMINATRIX, alongside my co-reader, [INSERT MALE WRITER NAME], POET." In a chapter called "Mind Fuck," Febos lays out rules for writing about sex, starting with "You can use any words you want,” and she illustrates her points with well-chosen quotes from writers like Marie Howe, Nancy Mairs, Carmen Maria Machado, and Cheryl Strayed. In a useful chapter addressing the pitfalls of writing about other people, Febos describes her own approach and practices, developed via hard experience. A section called "Mom Goggles," for example, goes right to the question many readers may have about the writer's often X-rated work: Does her mother read it? It turns out she does, along with other family members, prior to publication. The author’s exhortations with regard to craft—"every single notation—every piece of punctuation, every word, every paragraph break in a piece of writing is a decision"; "The I of [the] narrator is not the I that writes the book"—are crucial, likely distilled from her lectures at the University of Iowa.
Sharp insights from a passionate practitioner and champion of memoir.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940178473948 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
| Publication date: | 03/15/2022 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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