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Zig-Zag Boy: Madness, Motherhood And Letting Go
by Tanya Frank‘[A] moving, beautifully written book about love and mental health and life’ BOB ODENKIRK ‘Fiercely intelligent, humane and necessary’ NATHAN FILER, author of THE SHOCK OF THE FALL 'At its heart a story about love … an astonishing new voice' ALI MILLAR, author of THE LAST DAYS
Zami: A New Spelling of my Name (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Audre LordeIf I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.A little black girl opens her eyes in 1930s Harlem. Around her, a heady swirl of passers-by, car horns, kerosene lamps, the stock market falling, fried bananas, tales of her parents' native Grenada. She trudges to public school along snowy sidewalks, and finds she is tongue-tied, legally blind, left behind by her older sisters. On she stumbles through teenage hardships -- suicide, abortion, hunger, a Christmas spent alone -- until she emerges into happiness: an oasis of friendship in Washington Heights, an affair in a dirty factory in Connecticut, and, finally, a journey down to the heat of Mexico, discovering sex, tenderness, and suppers of hot tamales and cold milk. This is Audre Lorde's story. It is a rapturous, life-affirming tale of independence, love, work, strength, sexuality and change, rich with poetry and fierce emotional power.
Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship (Sexuality, Culture and Health)
by Peter Aggleton Rob Cover Deana Leahy Daniel Marshall Mary Lou RasmussenSexual citizenship is a powerful concept associated with debates about recognition and exclusion, agency, respect and accountability. For young people in general and for gender and sexually diverse youth in particular, these debates are entangled with broader imaginings of social transitions: from ‘child’ to ‘adult’and from ‘unreasonable subject’ to one ‘who can consent’. This international and interdisciplinary collection identifies and locates struggles for recognition and inclusion in particular contexts and at particular moments in time, recognising that sexual and gender diverse young people are neither entirely vulnerable nor self-reliant. Focusing on the numerous domains in which debates about youth, sexuality and citizenship are enacted and contested, Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship explores young people’s experiences in diverse but linked settings: in the family, at school and in college, in employment, in social media and through engagement with health services. Bookended by reflections from Jeffrey Weeks and and Susan Talburt, the book’s empirically grounded chapters also engage with the key debates outlined in it's scholarly introduction. This innovative book is of interest to students and scholars of gender and sexuality, health and sex education, and youth studies, from a range of disciplinary and professional backgrounds, including sociology, education, nursing, social work and youth work.
Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship (Sexuality, Culture and Health)
Sexual citizenship is a powerful concept associated with debates about recognition and exclusion, agency, respect and accountability. For young people in general and for gender and sexually diverse youth in particular, these debates are entangled with broader imaginings of social transitions: from ‘child’ to ‘adult’and from ‘unreasonable subject’ to one ‘who can consent’. This international and interdisciplinary collection identifies and locates struggles for recognition and inclusion in particular contexts and at particular moments in time, recognising that sexual and gender diverse young people are neither entirely vulnerable nor self-reliant. Focusing on the numerous domains in which debates about youth, sexuality and citizenship are enacted and contested, Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship explores young people’s experiences in diverse but linked settings: in the family, at school and in college, in employment, in social media and through engagement with health services. Bookended by reflections from Jeffrey Weeks and and Susan Talburt, the book’s empirically grounded chapters also engage with the key debates outlined in it's scholarly introduction. This innovative book is of interest to students and scholars of gender and sexuality, health and sex education, and youth studies, from a range of disciplinary and professional backgrounds, including sociology, education, nursing, social work and youth work.
You’re That B*tch: & Other Cute Stories About Being Unapologetically Yourself
by Bretman Rock“This book is hilarious and that bitch made me laugh out loud.”—Chelsea Handler A chaotically joyous collection of essays from one of the original influencers and the internet's sweetheart, Bretman "The Baddest" Rock.
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight
by Kalynn BayronThis heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson's White Smoke, Friday the 13th, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Get Out.Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.But in the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need to figure out what this killer is after. Is there more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight
by Kalynn BayronThis heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson's White Smoke, Friday the 13th, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Get Out.Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.But in the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need to figure out what this killer is after. Is there more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight
by Kalynn BayronAt Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night?This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.Charity has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. As they unravel the bloody history of the real Mirror Lake, Charity discovers that there may be more to the story than she ever suspected . . .
Your Love is Not Good (G - Reference,information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
by Johanna HedvaAt an otherwise forgettable party in Los Angeles, a queer Korean American painter spots a woman who instantly controls the room: gorgeous and distant and utterly white, the centre of everyone’s attention. Haunted into adulthood by her Korean father’s abandonment of his family, as well as the spectre of her beguiling, abusive white mother, the painter finds herself caught in a perfect trap. She wants Hanne, or wants to be her, or to sully her, or destroy her, or consume her, or some confusion of all the above. Since she’s an artist, she will use art to get closer to Hanne, beginning a series of paintings with her new muse as model. As for Hanne, what does she want? Her whiteness seems sometimes as cruel as a new sheet of paper.When the paintings of Hanne become a hit, resulting in the artist’s first sold-out show, she resolves to bring her new muse with her to Berlin, to continue their work, and her seduction. But, just when the painter is on the verge of her long sought-after breakthrough, a petition started by a Black performance artist begins making the rounds in the art community, calling for the boycott of major museums and art galleries for their imperialist and racist practices. Torn between her desire to support the petition, to be a success, and to possess Hanne, the painter and her reality become more unstable and disorienting, unwilling to cut loose any one of her warring ambitions, yet unable to accommodate them all. Is it any wonder so many artists self-destruct so spectacularly? Is it perhaps just a bit exciting to think she could too? Your Love Is Not Good stuffs queer explosive into the cracks between identity and aspiration, between desire and art, and revels in the raining debris.
Your Gender Book: Helping You Be You!
by Ben Pechey'This book is here to hold your hand; to answer your questions; soothe your soul; help you understand yourself in new ways. The best place to start is at the beginning. The best time is now! So, turn the page and let's explore who you are!'If you are at the start of your journey with gender identity, or looking to help someone who is, this insightful guide offers a safe space to celebrate you becoming your true - and most joyful - self. With fun activities, resources and LGBTQ+ role models throughout, this book sheds light on everything from gender identity, sex, pronouns and expression, to barriers, mental health, allyship and finding happiness.Written in Ben Pechey's trademark witty, upbeat and vibrant style, this empowering tool will help you engage with your gender creatively and become your most authentic self.
Your Driver Is Waiting
by Priya Guns'What you are about to read is a call to arms. Best to prepare for a confrontation.' New York Times Book Review'A hard-hitting masterpiece. I devoured it.' Kristen Arnett, author of WITH TEETH 'A madcap story you won't want to put down' Rachel Yoder, author of NIGHTBITCH Damani is tired. Every day she cares for her mum, drives ride shares to pay the bills and is angry at a world that promised her more before spitting her out. The city is alive with protests, fighting for people like her, but Damani can barely afford - literally - to pay attention.That is until the summer she meets Jolene and life opens up. Jolene seems like she could be the perfect girlfriend - attentive, attractive, an ally - and their chemistry is undeniable. Jolene's done the reading, she goes to every protest, she has all the right answers. So maybe Damani can look past the one thing that's holding her back: Jolene is rich. And not only rich, but white, too. But just as their romance intensifies, just as Damani learns to trust, Jolene does something unforgivable, setting off a truly explosive chain of events.Brimming with heart, humour, and rage, Your Driver Is Waiting is a powerful, blackly funny social satire that announces the arrival of a fearless new voice.
Your Choice Book Three: The Whole-school Solution For Pshe Including Relationships, Sex And Health Education (PDF)
by John Foster Simon Foster Kim RichardsonYour Choice Book 3 covers the 2019 Health, Relationships and Sex Education curriculum, offering advice and practical techniques for managing students' time, money, emotions and health. Topics are organised into four strands to offer a coherent, progressive PSHE course for Years 7 to 9. Each unit can be taught on its own, at any point during Key Stage 3 that the school thinks is appropriate. In Student Book 3: · Personal wellbeing and mental health units concentrate on building confidence and self-esteem, and coping with stress, anxiety and depression. · Relationships and sex education units explore sexuality and gender identity, different types of partnership and marriage, and pregnancy and parenthood. · Physical health and wellbeing units include a focus on drugs, body image and the dangers of gambling. · Social education units look outwards to the local community and to global Citizenship issues. The content has been trialled by a team of PSHE teachers and RSE experts. The series is accompanied by a detailed teacher guide.
Youngman: Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan
by Lou SullivanA unique first-hand account of a historical gay trans man's whole life, which reads like a celebratory coming-of-age novel. Lou kept candid diaries from the age of 10. Through these extracts, we hear Lou's life in his own words: from 'playing boys' in his childhood in Wisconsin, to cruising San Francisco's gay bars for handsome 'youngmen'; from first hearing about gender non-conforming communities, to becoming a vital part of them as an activist, author, and archivist. Lou navigated his identity with few role models and was perhaps the first publicly gay transgender man. Successfully campaigning to remove heterosexuality from the medical requirements for gender affirming surgery, Lou was pivotal in our modern understanding of gender and sexuality as distinct identities. After he was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, he remarked that he had been told by clinics that 'it was impossible for me to live as a gay man, but it looks like I'm gonna die like one.' This selection shows Lou's joyous love of life, men, and sex. * LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD WINNER * * PUBLISHING TRIANGLE FINALIST * WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SUSAN STRYKER 'Chatty and tender, casually poetic and voraciously sexual-Sullivan workshopped his identity and his relationships, committing to the page an interior monologue of self-discovery that paralleled the gay-liberation movement, the burgeoning transgender-rights movement, and the aids crisis... Given how many contemporary trans narratives are rooted in trauma, their choice to foreground trans pleasure and sensuality is celebratory, even radical' The New Yorker
Young Mungo: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller
by Douglas Stuart'Prepare your hearts, for Douglas Stuart is back. After the extraordinary success of Shuggie Bain, his second novel, Young Mungo, is another beautiful and moving book, a gay Romeo and Juliet set in the brutal world of Glasgow’s housing estates.' – ObserverThe extraordinary, powerful second novel from the Booker prizewinning author of Shuggie Bain, Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future. Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.
Young Bloomsbury: the generation that reimagined love, freedom and self-expression
by Nino Strachey'Entirely original and thrilling . . . this is Gatsby made real' JULIET NICOLSON'This witty, fascinating book is a delight. Read it.' MIRIAM MARGOLYESIn the 1920s a new generation stepped forward to invigorate the Bloomsbury Group - creative young people who tantalised the original 'Bloomsberries' with their captivating looks and provocative ideas. Young Bloomsbury introduces us to an extraordinarily colourful cast of characters, including novelist and music critic Eddy Sackville-West, 'who wore elaborate make-up and dressed in satin and black velvet'; sculptor Stephen Tomlin; and writer Julia Strachey. Talented and productive, these larger-than-life figures had high-achieving professional lives and extremely complicated emotional lives.Bloomsbury had always celebrated sexual equality and freedom in private, feeling that every person had the right to live and love in the way they chose. But as transgressive self-expression became more public, this younger generation gave Old Bloomsbury a new voice. Revealing an aspect of Bloomsbury history not yet explored, Young Bloomsbury celebrates an open way of living that would not be embraced for another hundred years.
You Will Be Safe Here
by Damian BarrAn Observer, Financial Times and Guardian Pick for 2019The stunning and shocking debut novel from the award-winning author of Maggie & Me. Set in South Africa You Will Be Safe Here explores legacies of abuse, redemption and the strength of the human spirit South Africa, 1901, the height of the second Boer War. Sarah van der Watt and her son are taken from their farm by force to Bloemfontein Concentration Camp where, the English promise: they will be safe.Johannesburg, 2010. Sixteen-year-old outsider Willem just wants to be left alone with his books and his dog. Worried he's not turning out right, his ma and her boyfriend send him to New Dawn Safari Training Camp. Here they 'make men out of boys'. Guaranteed.You Will Be Safe Here is a deeply moving novel of connected parts. Inspired by real events, it uncovers a hidden colonial history and present-day darkness while exploring our capacity for cruelty and kindness.
You Will Be Safe Here
by Damian BarrAn extraordinary debut that explores legacies of abuse, redemption, and the strength of the human spirit--from the Boer Wars in South Africa to brutal wilderness camps for teenage boys.South Africa, 1901. It is the height of the second Boer War. Sarah van der Watt and her six-year-old son Fred are forced from their home on Cherry Tree Farm. As the polite invaders welcome them to Bloemfontein Concentration Camp they promise Sarah and Fred that they will be safe there. 2014. Sixteen-year-old Willem is an outsider. Hoping he will become the man she wants him to be, his Ma and her boyfriend force Willem to attend the New Dawn Safari Training Camp where they are proud to make men out of boys. They promise that he will be safe there. You Will Be Safe Here is a powerful and urgent novel of two connected South African stories. Inspired by real events, it uncovers a hidden colonial history, reveals a dark contemporary secret, and explores the legacy of violence and our will to survive.
You Will Be Safe Here
by Damian BarrFrom the author of the acclaimed memoir Maggie &Me comes a stunning debut novel about the legacies of abuse, redemption, and the strength of the human spirit, set in South Africa over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.South Africa, 1901: At the height of the Second Boer War, Sarah van der Watt and her son are taken from their farm by force to Bloemfontein Concentration Camp where, the English promise, they will be safe.Johannesburg, 2010: Sixteen-year-old outsider Willem just wants to be left alone with his books and his dog. Worried he's not turning out right, his mother and her boyfriend send him to New Dawn Safari Training Camp. Here they “make men out of boys.” Guaranteed.You Will Be Safe Here is a deeply moving novel of two connected parts. Inspired by real events, it uncovers a hidden colonial history and present-day darkness while exploring our capacity for cruelty and kindness.
You Need to Chill
by Juno DawsonThe sparklingly funny debut picture book from Juno Dawson, bestselling writer and activist.
You Must Not Miss
by Katrina LenoOne of Us Is Lying meets Carrie in this suspenseful story of friendship, family, and revenge.Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother's life. The day Eryn, Magpie's sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp's party.Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won't speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who've all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near.Near is perfect - a place where her father never cheated, her mother never drank, and Magpie's own life never derailed so suddenly. She imagines Near so completely, so fully, that she writes it into existence, right in her own backyard. At first, Near is a peaceful escape, but soon it becomes something darker, somewhere nightmares lurk and hidden truths come to light. Soon it becomes a place where Magpie can do anything she wants...even get her revenge.You Must Not Miss is an intoxicating, twisted tale of magic, menace, and the monsters that live inside us all.
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty: 2022's Hottest Romance
by Akwaeke Emezi'Emezi is a dream of a writer. My heart soared and shook and panted.' Bolu BabalolaHave you fallen for this INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING novelist's sizzling hot entrance into the world of romance?A TIME NEXT GENERATION LEADER'A deeply heartfelt romance novel.' Marie Claire'By turns raunchy, sad and uplifting.' GraziaIt's the opportunity of a lifetime:Feyi is about to be given the chance to escape the City's blistering heat for a dream island holiday: poolside cocktails, beach sunsets, and elaborate meals. And as the sun goes down on her old life our heroine also might just be ready to open her heart to someone new.The only problem is, she's falling for the one man she absolutely can't have.What readers are saying'Funny. Sexy. Real.''Say hello to the book of the summer.''Exquisite and gripping.''A must read for all romance lovers.''It's like Insecure and Queenie had a baby.''Layered as it is messy whilst giving you ALL the summer vibes.'
You Gotta Be You: How to Embrace This Messy Life and Step Into Who You Really Are
by Brandon Kyle GoodmanYOU ARE ENOUGH EXACTLY AS YOU ARE. From the time we&’re born, a litany of do&’s and don&’ts are placed on us by our families, our communities, and society. We&’re required to fit into boxes based on our race, gender, sexuality, and other parts of our identities, being told by others how we should behave, who we should date, or what we should be interested in. For so many of us, those boxes begin to feel like shackles when we realize they don&’t fit our unique shape, yet we keep trying because we crave acceptance and validation. But is &“fitting in&” worth the time, energy, and suffering? Actor, writer, and activist Brandon Kyle Goodman says, Hell no it ain&’t! As a Black nonbinary, queer person in a dark-skinned 6&’1&”, 180-pound male body born into a religious immigrant household, Brandon knows the pain of having to hide one&’s true self, the work of learning to love that true self, and the freedom of finally being your true self. In You Gotta Be You, Brandon affectionately challenges you to consider, &“Who would I be if society never got its hands on me?&” This question set Brandon on a mission to dropkick societal shackles by unlearning all the things he was told he should be in order to step into who he really is. It required him to reexamine messy but ultimately defining moments in his life—his first time being followed in a store, navigating his mother&’s born-again Christianity, and regretfully using soap as lube (yes, you read that right!)—to find the lessons that would guide him to his most authentic self. Compassionate and soulful, funny and revealing, You Gotta Be You is an unapologetic call to self-freedom. It&’s about turning rejection (from others and yourself) into a roadmap to self-love. It&’s a guide to setting boundaries and fostering self-growth. And most importantly, it&’s an affirmation that we are enough exactly as we are.
You Gotta Be You: How to Embrace This Messy Life and Step Into Who You Really Are
by Brandon Kyle GoodmanAudible's Best of the Year in Well-Being YOU ARE ENOUGH EXACTLY AS YOU ARE. From the time we&’re born, a litany of do&’s and don&’ts are placed on us by our families, our communities, and society. We&’re required to fit into boxes based on our race, gender, sexuality, and other parts of our identities, being told by others how we should behave, who we should date, or what we should be interested in. For so many of us, those boxes begin to feel like shackles when we realize they don&’t fit our unique shape, yet we keep trying because we crave acceptance and validation. But is &“fitting in&” worth the time, energy, and suffering? Actor, writer, and activist Brandon Kyle Goodman says, Hell no it ain&’t! As a Black nonbinary, queer person in a dark-skinned 6&’1&”, 180-pound male body born into a religious immigrant household, Brandon knows the pain of having to hide one&’s true self, the work of learning to love that true self, and the freedom of finally being your true self. In You Gotta Be You, Brandon affectionately challenges you to consider, &“Who would I be if society never got its hands on me?&” This question set Brandon on a mission to dropkick societal shackles by unlearning all the things he was told he should be in order to step into who he really is. It required him to reexamine messy but ultimately defining moments in his life—his first time being followed in a store, navigating his mother&’s born-again Christianity, and regretfully using soap as lube (yes, you read that right!)—to find the lessons that would guide him to his most authentic self. Compassionate and soulful, funny and revealing, You Gotta Be You is an unapologetic call to self-freedom. It&’s about turning rejection (from others and yourself) into a roadmap to self-love. It&’s a guide to setting boundaries and fostering self-growth. And most importantly, it&’s an affirmation that we are enough exactly as we are.
You Feel So Mortal: Essays on the Body
by Peggy ShinnerFeet, bras, autopsies, hair—Peggy Shinner takes an honest, unflinching look at all of them in You Feel So Mortal, a collection of searing and witty essays about the body: her own body, female and Jewish; those of her parents, the bodies she came from; and the collective body, with all its historical, social, and political implications. What, she asks, does this whole mess of bones, muscles, organs, and soul mean? Searching for answers, she turns her keen narrative sense to body image, gender, ethnic history, and familial legacy, exploring what it means to live in our bodies and to leave them behind. Over the course of twelve essays, Shinner holds a mirror up to the complex desires, fears, confusions, and mysteries that shape our bodily perceptions. Driven by the collision between herself and the larger world, she examines her feet through the often-skewed lens of history to understand what makes them, in the eyes of some, decidedly Jewish; considers bras, breasts, and the storied skills of the bra fitter; asks, from the perspective of a confused and grieving daughter, what it means to cut the body open; and takes a reeling time-trip through myth, culture, and history to look at women’s hair in ancient Rome, Laos, France, Syria, Cuba, India, and her own past. Some pieces investigate the body under emotional or physical duress, while others use the body to consider personal heritage and legacy. Throughout, Shinner writes with elegance and assurance, weaving her wide-ranging thoughts into a firm and fascinating fabric. Turning the category of body books on, well, its ear, You Feel So Mortal offers a probing view of our preoccupation with the body that is both idiosyncratic and universal, leaving us with the deep satisfaction of our shared humanity.
You Feel So Mortal: Essays on the Body
by Peggy ShinnerFeet, bras, autopsies, hair—Peggy Shinner takes an honest, unflinching look at all of them in You Feel So Mortal, a collection of searing and witty essays about the body: her own body, female and Jewish; those of her parents, the bodies she came from; and the collective body, with all its historical, social, and political implications. What, she asks, does this whole mess of bones, muscles, organs, and soul mean? Searching for answers, she turns her keen narrative sense to body image, gender, ethnic history, and familial legacy, exploring what it means to live in our bodies and to leave them behind. Over the course of twelve essays, Shinner holds a mirror up to the complex desires, fears, confusions, and mysteries that shape our bodily perceptions. Driven by the collision between herself and the larger world, she examines her feet through the often-skewed lens of history to understand what makes them, in the eyes of some, decidedly Jewish; considers bras, breasts, and the storied skills of the bra fitter; asks, from the perspective of a confused and grieving daughter, what it means to cut the body open; and takes a reeling time-trip through myth, culture, and history to look at women’s hair in ancient Rome, Laos, France, Syria, Cuba, India, and her own past. Some pieces investigate the body under emotional or physical duress, while others use the body to consider personal heritage and legacy. Throughout, Shinner writes with elegance and assurance, weaving her wide-ranging thoughts into a firm and fascinating fabric. Turning the category of body books on, well, its ear, You Feel So Mortal offers a probing view of our preoccupation with the body that is both idiosyncratic and universal, leaving us with the deep satisfaction of our shared humanity.