A review by toofondofbooks_
My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

I've been living under a rock for years and did not know who Emily Ratajkowski was before I started seeing this book pop up in the TBRs and wrap ups of booktubers I watch. I went into this hearing her be described as the "Blurred Lines" girl and walked out of the book knowing she is so much more. Ratajkowski writes so vulnerably about her experiences working in the modeling industry, how her body has been bought and sold - most of the time without her consent, how she marvels at the wonderful things her body can do to her (i.e. the birth of her son), and how it can make people think they know all about who she is based on what she looks like. 

I think this memoir does a beautiful job of stomping on the narrative that no matter what a woman looks like, it doesn't give them more power. Ratajkowski cites a quote by Halle Berry: "My looks have spared me no hardship." She's RIGHT. Your looks do not protect you from abuse at the hands of men and patriarchal norms in society. It's so insidious to go around believing that beautiful women don't have problems simply because they are beautiful. 

Anyway - that was a tangent, back to what I thought...

There were sections listening to this audiobook where I flat out cried, especially when at times, Ratajkowski herself, narrating the book, would get choked up herself. I wanted to hug this woman every time that happened. It felt extremely intimate to listen to her read her own words.

Additionally, Emily Ratajkowski's writing is beautiful. The pictures she paints with her words are both lovely and grotesque, they can be joyful or heartbreaking, but they are consistently vivid. I will definitely be adding anything else she writes to my TBR. 
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