Body Work

The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

By: Melissa Febos

Narrated by: Melissa Febos

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.

The honesty of the personal narrative and the feminism

A great book for any female-identifying writer, whether you are a major novelist or someone who write in a diary every night.

Exactly what I needed

Thank you for writing this book!!! This is an excellent book and couldn’t recommend it more

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.

Must read for Memorist

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