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Melissa Febos

Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative Paperback – March 15, 2022

by Melissa Febos (Author)

290 ratings

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AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Memoir meets craft master class in this “daring, honest, psychologically insightful” exploration of how we think and write about intimate experiences—“a must read for anybody shoving a pen across paper or staring into a screen or a past" (Mary Karr)

In this bold and exhilarating mix of memoir and master class, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storyteller’s life and the questions which run through it.

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.

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Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Catapult
Publication date

March 15, 2022
Dimensions

5.51 x 0.51 x 8.23 inches
ISBN-10

1646220854
ISBN-13

978-1646220854

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Editorial Reviews

Review

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)

About the Author

Melissa Febos is the author of the memoir Whip Smart; Abandon Me, a LAMBDA Literary Award finalist and Publishing Triangle Award finalist; Girlhood, a national bestseller and National Book Critics Circle finalist; and the forthcoming Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative. A recipient of the Jeanne Córdova Nonfiction Award from LAMBDA Literary and of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, Bread Loaf, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The BAU Institute, Vermont Studio Center, The Barbara Deming Foundation, and others; her essays have appeared in The Paris Review, The Believer, McSweeney’s Quarterly, Granta, The Yale Review, Tin House, The Sun, New York Review of Books, and The New York Times Magazine. She is an associate professor at the University of Iowa, where she teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Catapult (March 15, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1646220854
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1646220854
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 0.51 x 8.23 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #53,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #180 in Creativity (Books)
- #574 in Women's Biographies
- #1,702 in Memoirs (Books)

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290 ratings

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Melissa Febos

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Melissa Febos is the national bestselling author of five books, including Whip Smart, Abandon Me, Girlhood—which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, and Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative. Her fifth book, The Dry Season, is forthcoming on June 3, 2025 from Alfred A. Knopf. Her awards and fellowships include those from the Guggenheim Foundation, LAMBDA Literary, the National Endowment for the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The British Library, The Black Mountain Institute, MacDowell, the Bogliasco Foundation, The Barbara Deming Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, The American Library in Paris, and others. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The Sun, The New York Times Magazine, The Best American Essays, Vogue, and New York Review of Books. Febos is a full professor at the University of Iowa and lives in Iowa City with her wife, the poet Donika Kelly.

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful, with one review highlighting its unique blend of memoir. Moreover, the writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it's a fantastic read for writers in any genre. Additionally, customers appreciate the writing style, with one review specifically mentioning its psychological rationale for personal narratives.

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8 customers mention "Insight"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, with one review highlighting its unique blend of memoir and another noting its far-reaching understanding.

"Enormously wise, generous, lucid, direct, and beautifully written, but so much more than that, this is the book that I have been waiting for, that I..." Read more

"...She provided powerful and positive insight into the human dimensions that are both affected and that also come together for the making of such a..." Read more

"Scientific and personal account of creating memoir and personal narrative to heal. Incredibly insightful - perspective." Read more

"...at most a night because there is so much to digest and think about… inspired . Worth it . Thank you" Read more

8 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting it's a fantastic read for writers in any genre.

"Enormously wise, generous, lucid, direct, and beautifully written, but so much more than that, this is the book that I have been waiting for, that I..." Read more

"...It was right on, and clearly understandable and Inspirational. I highly recommend this book." Read more

"She is a fantastic writer, but I sometimes want to skip past much of the poetic maundering with her work (I felt the same with Girlhood)...." Read more

"...If you love great writing, especially contemporary memoir, this is the book for you." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing style"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, with one review highlighting its psychological rationale for personal narratives, while another notes its empathetic connections and emotional depth.

"...read on subjects such as: writing about other people, writing about trauma and recovery, writing about sex, all through the lens of the author's life..." Read more

"She is a fantastic writer, but I sometimes want to skip past much of the poetic maundering with her work (I felt the same with Girlhood)...." Read more

"Scientific and personal account of creating memoir and personal narrative to heal. Incredibly insightful - perspective." Read more

"...There may be other writers that make such profound and empathetic connections between writing, being female and the erotic, but I haven't..." Read more

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CreativeWritingProfs
Another Febos Completist is Born
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2022
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Enormously wise, generous, lucid, direct, and beautifully written, but so much more than that, this is the book that I have been waiting for, that I never knew that I wanted. The book I wish I had had at the beginning of my career and the book that will empower me still, even as I absorb it in my fifties.
I began to understand that I was internalizing the male dominated values and narratives of the writing world over a decade ago but I struggled to free myself from them, as much as I longed too. I have begun, in the last few years, to understand better the ways in which these values hobble all of us, men and women, alike, in telling our stories, but this book has finally freed me, gave me my own tools to dismantle the master's house (Audre Lord). It has given me a capacious (one of my favorite words so I use it often and it's appropriate here) intellectual, emotional and psychological rationale for writing the personal narratives I have always been drawn to, even as I came of age as a writer fifteen years before the author did, when personal narratives were even less valued.
But this book does even more than that. It offers perhaps some of the best advice I have ever read on subjects such as: writing about other people, writing about trauma and recovery, writing about sex, all through the lens of the author's life, a lens which she focuses so well here in teaching us these lessons. And what a generous teacher is Melissa Febos, teaching us how to be writers in the world, in relationship, and how to take hold of the reins of our own stories, because they are important, to us and to humanity. Toni Morrison famously said, the function of freedom is to free someone else. This book opens the gates for whoever reads it and so I will be championing it and using it to teach every chance I get. It is just that good.

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Pam
Much More Than Expected
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2024
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Melissa Febos provided more in depth and far-reaching understanding about writing memoir than I expected. She provided powerful and positive insight into the human dimensions that are both affected and that also come together for the making of such a creative work as a personal narrative. It was right on, and clearly understandable and Inspirational. I highly recommend this book.

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Meb
great writing, sometimes loses me, but still a fan of the author
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2022
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She is a fantastic writer, but I sometimes want to skip past much of the poetic maundering with her work (I felt the same with Girlhood). I'm never sure if the intent is filler content or if the writer is trying to convince readers or themselves of their prowess, but it loses me. I am still a fan of the author. Reading has always been a challenge with ADD—I guess it makes me the ultimate demanding audience—gotta keep me locked in.

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4 people found this helpful

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SMC
Brilliant
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2023
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Scientific and personal account of creating memoir and personal narrative to heal. Incredibly insightful - perspective.

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Cliente Amazon
Intricate thoughts: treasures…
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2023
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Intricate thoughts: treasures…

So far so .. inspired. Out of the several books I’ve bought in the last 6 months of my reading frenzy… this one I received two days ago and it’s keeping my attention: intense, full of treasures of thought : powerful .

There are so many beacons of light on each page I must stick to a chapter at most a night because there is so much to digest and think about… inspired . Worth it . Thank you

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5 people found this helpful

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W. Harrison
Unique blend of memoir and craft writing
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2022
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I'm a fan of Ms. Febos's work. She's got a powerful story to tell and the chops to tell it in a compelling, poignant way. Body Work complements her previous 3 memoirs but is a fantastic read on its own. If you love great writing, especially contemporary memoir, this is the book for you.

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4 people found this helpful

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kirtida gautam
An awe-inspiring performance of creative non-fiction, a story of love between art and artist
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2022
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Reading Melissa Febos's "Body Work" jolted me back into a state of creative wakefulness, a place where I am better prepared to create, more equipped to fall and fail, but most importantly, I am willing to admit that I enjoy writing.

Reading this book felt like watching a rapturous performance of a dancer who has practiced her craft for years, sure, but the elation of the performance is the result of how she forgets that she is on the stage when she is on the stage. The effect is trancelike.

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6 people found this helpful

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Hether W.
Not what I was looking for
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2022
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Going into this book, I was unaware of the author or any previous work she had done. I was looking forward to a book on the elements of a good memoir and using our real, raw moments to impact our story. That part was there. However, the second chapter threw me off. I was unaware of the potential sexy content that may exist in the book. So I found myself at work, with the audiobook version, listening to a very long chapter about how to write good sex. With examples. I felt a bit awkward and embarrassed even though I was the only one who knew what I was hearing! I can preface this with the fact that I have a very different sexual history and ethic than Febos and that is 100% ok. But had I been aware of how prominent this piece would be within such a large part of the book, I may have looked for another resource. I almost threw in the towel but decided to keep going. There were a few good nuggets in the following chapters. However, I think for women with similar stories and histories this book would be a wonderful resources. But overall for myself, I think I may have had a better connection with a different author.

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10 people found this helpful

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Cristina
Must read!!!
Reviewed in Australia on December 30, 2023
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It’s been a while since a book has held me hostage, unable to focus on the world around me, but this book had been reading until 3am in the morning. A recommended read to any creative who tells their story, or part of themselves, in their work.

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