Hiya wallflowers! I thought I’d start off our wallflower reads series with the best book I’ve read in…well, what feels like my entire life. Have you ever read something that felt specifically made for you? Something that was almost tough to get through because picking it up felt like therapy each time? That’s how I feel about The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor. It’s a pretty short read but took me three months to finish due to the number of times I had to stop and reflect.
The message we often hear from the body positivity movement is sweet and encouraging, but a little fluffy. Something along the lines of, “practice self-care, love your tummy rolls, be confident!” If only it were that simple. The Body Is Not an Apology is fluff-free. Sonya Renee Taylor introduces the concept of radical self-love as a way of combating body terrorism, “an act of terrorism against our bodies to perpetuate body shame and to support body-based oppression.”
I feel like this book was made for me, and I feel like it was made for you too, whoever you are, whatever your life looks like. When I finally finished reading, I felt empowered and loved but also felt a stronger love for others. As I continue trying to cultivate radical self-love in my own life, my next step is to purchase the workbook that goes along with the book!
The Body Is Not an Apology
Genres:
Nonfiction, Self-Help, Feminism, Social Justice
Mood:
Educational, Empowering, Relatable, Kind
Notable Quotes:
“Living in a female body, a Black body, an aging body, a fat body, a body with mental illness is to awaken daily to a planet that expects a certain set of apologies to already live on our tongues. There is a level of “not enough” or “too much” sewn into these strands of difference.”
“When we decide that people’s bodies are wrong because we don’t understand them, we are trying to avoid the discomfort of divesting from an entire body-shame system.”
“Concepts like self-acceptance and body neutrality are not without value. When you have spent your entire life at war with your body, these models offer a truce. But you can have more than a cease-fire. You can have radical self-love because you are already radical self-love.”
Worth the read if:
- You have ever apologized for your body – for its size, color, disabilities, gender, and so forth.
- You’ve struggled to love others because of their different bodies.
- You’re passionate about equality and repairing the broken systems of the world.
You can buy The Body Is Not an Apology on Bookshop and Amazon, or find it at your local library using the Libby app!
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