Holy fuck.
Just look at that beautiful cover.
I may or may not have just started tearing up. Damn allergies.
Aaand I just got goosebumps too.. kfine. Maybe I'm just happy.
Here's my official announcement: MY BOOK IS FINISHED, IT'S COMING OUT OCTOBER 27TH AND YOU CAN PRE-ORDER IT NOW!!!!!
I'll also be touring the last week of October/first few weeks in November and I'll most certainly be in NYC, San Francisco, and a few others. (You can sign up for the email list if you want more info on where I'll be!)
I'm just... floored that this book is now an official thing. And I find myself wanting to "prescribe" it to everyone who's ever had a question like: I know about unrealistic beauty standards but I still like wearing lipstick; is that bad? What about the importance of health? What's the difference between pretty and beautiful? Is wanting to be those a negative thing? Is taking copious amounts of selfies narcissistic? Will I ever find love? Can fashion be political? How do I talk to my kids about body positivity? What is a Serious Mental Illness? How do I love my post-pregnancy body? What is "The Beauty Myth"? Why did we start hating our bodies? What do I do when my family body shames me? How does whitewashing contribute to systemic racism? How do I take care of my mental health? What can I do to change the world?
Even if I didn't write this book, I would shamelessly shove it in every persons hand no matter their size because... y'all- this shit is so important and it's time that this info is shared real-talk style. I want you to know that it purposefully isn't an academic text, but rather something conversational that's meant to reach a wide audience that wants to learn about body positivity too. And while I did include critical academic theories- they're broken down simply with curse words interspersed of course. Because that's how I learn best. And maybe you do too.
THING TO KNOW: This isn't my blog in book form. There are a few stories I've already shared online (like exercise and fat girl freak outs, how fat girls find love too, self portraits and why it's important to start loving yourself now etc) because those who don't know me need those in their life too! But honestly, I don't write a lot of what I've learned (and love to talk about) because it takes at least five thousand words to explain them and none of us have that kind of concentration on the internet. Writing this book also forced me to clarify many opinions I hadn't taken the time to do previously and express them in ways I never have before. So this is my handbook. It has pages of resources. All the topics. All together. And it's wonderful. At least, I think so.
ANOTHER THING TO KNOW: this book is chock full of guest essays from prominent body activists. Virgie Tovar, Sonya Renee, Shanna Katz, Jennifer McLellan, Andrew Walen, Bruce Sturgell, Sam Dylan Finch, Chrystal Bougon, and several other awesome humans. Their contributions include topics such as: male fatshion, why we need to say fuck you to diet culture, how to have hot sex, ways to advocate for yourself at the doctor, how to include disability in your activism, trans* masculinity, the exclusion of race, and other critical and relevant topics.
WHO IS THIS FOR? If you're wondering if this book is for you, here's the official list of recommended readers:
"If you are a person who has spent your entire life feeling horrible about your body and you think that self-hatred kinda sucks, this book is for you. If you’re interested in this totally bizarre concept called body love that you keep hearing about on Upworthy and BuzzFeed and you wanna know what it’s all about, this book is for you.
If you’re intimidated by academic texts but still want to have a conversation about body love, this book is for you. If you feel the need to hold something that says you’re a valuable person (just as you are, right now) and reading websites just doesn’t cut it, this book is for you. If you need a refresher course on why loving your body is not only possible, but critical, this book is for you.
If you’re a “fat” chick (who might be scared of that word) and is convinced that your body is bad and holding you back from living an amazing life, this book is for you. If you’re looking for a book that might offend your sensitivities at some point and has more italicized and capitalized words than you know what to do with . . . this book is SO for you.
If you are a person with a body who is tired of being shamed and told to shape up, slim down, camouflage, alter against your will, or make apologies for your body . . . THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU."I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume that this book is probably for you, dear friend. And I'm really excited to share it with ya.
You can pre-order
You can also follow the book's Facebook page if you want to be kept up to date on it's happenings. You can ALSO join the email list for updates on the release, interviews, and the book tour... which I'm really fucking excited about.
Sonya Renee Taylor told me it's "brilliant." Hanne Blank said it's "punchy" and "wonderful." Linda Bacon said it's "totally awesome." I say it's good enough that I won't die of shame when it's published (you can read about my not-glamorous-at-all writing process here).
So there's that.
Any questions? Leave them below and I'll answer them to the best of my ability!
Sending you all SO much love.
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