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A review by jsnow
Body Work by Melissa Febos
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the advanced audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"Every single thing I have created worth a damn has been a practice of love, healing and redemption. I know this process to be divine."
Wow. I wasn’t familiar with Febos’ work, but after reading Body Work I am looking forward to reading her memoir Whip Smart. Her voice is clear, smart, and unapologetic. In Body Work, she drew from her lifetime of experience as a writer, academic, sex worker, recovered addict, queer person, and (above all else) a woman, to talk about how our experiences shape us and give us a voice. The book is organized as a collection of essays where she gives clear pieces of practical advice about how to write about ourselves or others with examples from her own work and that of other writers she respects. She attacks those who try and restrict the way artists create (see: her view on “unrules”), and empowers the reader to block external voices and their inner critics in order to tell their stories authentically.
I work in a creative profession and I am a feminist but I am not a writer. I listened to this as an audiobook. The author's narration of her book was great, but the book was somewhat advanced at times and I think I would have been able to process it better if I had read it in print or e-book format. It would likely be more digestible in an audio format for professional writers. But I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless, and was moved by it. I listened to the last section multiple times because it was so beautiful and I wasn't ready for it to end. And it even included a lyric from one of my very favorite songs - what a treat.
"Every single thing I have created worth a damn has been a practice of love, healing and redemption. I know this process to be divine."
Wow. I wasn’t familiar with Febos’ work, but after reading Body Work I am looking forward to reading her memoir Whip Smart. Her voice is clear, smart, and unapologetic. In Body Work, she drew from her lifetime of experience as a writer, academic, sex worker, recovered addict, queer person, and (above all else) a woman, to talk about how our experiences shape us and give us a voice. The book is organized as a collection of essays where she gives clear pieces of practical advice about how to write about ourselves or others with examples from her own work and that of other writers she respects. She attacks those who try and restrict the way artists create (see: her view on “unrules”), and empowers the reader to block external voices and their inner critics in order to tell their stories authentically.
I work in a creative profession and I am a feminist but I am not a writer. I listened to this as an audiobook. The author's narration of her book was great, but the book was somewhat advanced at times and I think I would have been able to process it better if I had read it in print or e-book format. It would likely be more digestible in an audio format for professional writers. But I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless, and was moved by it. I listened to the last section multiple times because it was so beautiful and I wasn't ready for it to end. And it even included a lyric from one of my very favorite songs - what a treat.