The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition

The Power of Radical Self-Love

“To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves.... ‘The body is not an apology’ is the mantra we should all embrace.” (Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and executive director, African American Policy Forum)

Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies.

The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world - for us all.

This second edition includes stories from Taylor’s travels around the world combating body terrorism and shines a light on the path toward liberation guided by love. In a brand new final chapter, she offers specific tools, actions, and resources for confronting racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia. And she provides a case study showing how radical self-love not only dismantles shame and self-loathing in us but has the power to dismantle entire systems of injustice. Together with the accompanying workbook, Your Body Is Not an Apology, Taylor brings the practice of radical self-love to life.

©2018, 2021 Sonya Renee Taylor (P)2021 Sonya Renee Taylor

I’m surprised at how much I loved and resonated with this book.

I’ll be brutally honest… my therapist sent me this book. I internally rolled my eyes and decided to buy a copy on Audible so I could multi-task with some busy-work and I couldn’t stop listening. I related to so much of what this book covered and I felt deeply the scenarios that I knew my friends and loved ones would relate to - I texted my best friend last night and asked if she would let me buy her a copy of this book, and I have at least 5 other people I want to get this into the hands of, because despite my initial hesitation from my own biases about body-positivity, this book is F#CKING gold.

Every body and they mama

Needs to read this book! Beautiful powerful lovely - thank you, Sonya Renee Taylor! Highly recommend. Loved hearing the author read

what collective healing looks like

there were many times in this reading where I was overwhelmed w guilt and shame and then reminded to let them go. its clear it's funny and it gives us steps to take magnificent

overall helpful

I appreciate the content. I respect the melanated female author!!!!! I struggled to finish it but I did. It was so involved that I felt rushed and couldn't sit with any one idea long enough because they all ran together with no clear Segway into the next. This is just my experience but I could probably engage this journey in a conference with dialog to connect the dots.

A book for everyBODY!

This book reminded me of all the videos that Sonya posts: very personal, like a friend talking to you. This book is full of reminders of simple truths about the world and I think Sonya authentically shares Radical Love sunshine, as usual. I highly encourage anyBODY to read/listen to this book!