Body Work

The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

By: Melissa Febos

Narrated by: Melissa Febos

Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

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 listeners and writers alike, offering ideas-and occasional notes of caution - to anyone who has ever hoped to see themselves in a story.

©2022 Melissa Febos (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Making Art from Experience

I saw this book in my local independent bookstore. While I like to support local merchants, I knew this was a book that was best experienced by listening. I’m so pleased the author read her work. Listening was a learning experience and a joy! Thank you.

Inspiring and instructive

Melissa Febos’ Body Work is humble and honest as it is bold and transgressive. I am one of those writers who has always been drawn to writing personal narrative while also feeling tangled up in embarrassment about it. In this slim essay collection Melissa does more than mount an effective intellectual argument in favor of personal writing - she also restores its dignity and spiritual purpose. If you long to write your story but aren’t sure you have a right to do so, read this book.

Brilliant

A brilliant examination of creative process and how to process our stories and transform these experiences into creative practice. Febos so vulnerably shares how she continues to dig deeper into her own writing and shares tips and advice for others to translate their life and traumas with words, paint or any medium. A must read for all, but especially for fellow creatives.

Wow

This book is helping me with research on a book I’m go writing wow just wow!!!

A must!!!

I love this book! After recently completing a memoir, Melissa reminds me of my reasons and describes my own healing journey—one she has transparently written about. She knows this process and shares her wisdom in Body Work. If you are a writer, this book is a must!

Must read for Memorist

insightful and beautiful writing . Clear and courageous telling of the power personal narrative has to transform both writer and reader

A great!

This was a great time! I highly recommend it. I want to read or listen more from this author.

Short, motivating book for memoirists

This is a niche book on the power of writing your personal story, mainly geared towards women. It is much more a book on writing than it is memoir. I have not read this author’s other works but I am curious now. There are a lot of beautiful and inspiring lines, so many that I am considering purchasing a hard copy so I can highlight and refer back to them. It’s a short listen, well-written, well-narrated. I would recommend it to any women who is writing or considering writing about their life!

read if ur a queer writer!!!

im an aspiring writer, a new one even, and this book really helped me understand the why and the how. i feel so much more prepared to write and theorize my life thanks to Febos’s work. will definitely listen again and again. Thank you Melissa Febos for sharing your stories with us.