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A review by thelifeoflaura
My Body Keeps Your Secrets by Lucia Osborne-Crowley
4.0
Lucia Osborne-Crowley didn't tell a soul when she was raped aged fifteen. Then, eighteen months after she was attacked, her body began to turn on her - and what followed were sudden bouts of searing, unbearable pain that saw her in and out of hospital for the next ten years.
In My Body Keeps Your Secrets, Lucia opens up about her story as well as the voices of women and trans and non-binary people from around the world. Widely researched and boldly argued, this book reveals the secrets our bodies bury deep within them, the way trauma can rewrite our biology, and how our complicated relationships with sex affect our connection with others.
It’s a hard, but eye opening read of what is, sadly, a common experience for many women, trans and non-binary people. She opens up about rape, eating disorders, body-image, her struggles with endometriosis and Crohn’s disease.
I have feelings about how it was writing - I think it’s such an important book for giving people the voice they have never had the chance to have, but at times I felt that it was a bit of ‘here is this harrowing story’, now let me jump in with my even worse experience, as if Lucia was, at times, trying to story top. For some of the stories, I just felt like their voices should have been left to stand as is, with Lucia sharing her own experiences in a separate chapter or later on. I just found myself, at times, feeling like I was being interrupted in hearing these stories.
Despite that, it was brilliantly collated and I loved that she went to the effort to getting a wide array of interviewees in her story to try and give voice to everyone. It’s a harrowing read, but poses some interesting questions about these difficult topics. I hope that we continue to see books like this to encourage people to have hard conversations and speak up.
In My Body Keeps Your Secrets, Lucia opens up about her story as well as the voices of women and trans and non-binary people from around the world. Widely researched and boldly argued, this book reveals the secrets our bodies bury deep within them, the way trauma can rewrite our biology, and how our complicated relationships with sex affect our connection with others.
It’s a hard, but eye opening read of what is, sadly, a common experience for many women, trans and non-binary people. She opens up about rape, eating disorders, body-image, her struggles with endometriosis and Crohn’s disease.
I have feelings about how it was writing - I think it’s such an important book for giving people the voice they have never had the chance to have, but at times I felt that it was a bit of ‘here is this harrowing story’, now let me jump in with my even worse experience, as if Lucia was, at times, trying to story top. For some of the stories, I just felt like their voices should have been left to stand as is, with Lucia sharing her own experiences in a separate chapter or later on. I just found myself, at times, feeling like I was being interrupted in hearing these stories.
Despite that, it was brilliantly collated and I loved that she went to the effort to getting a wide array of interviewees in her story to try and give voice to everyone. It’s a harrowing read, but poses some interesting questions about these difficult topics. I hope that we continue to see books like this to encourage people to have hard conversations and speak up.