9 Books To Help You Love Your Body

In partnership with the Guille-Allès Library

Here's the deal: Our bodies are so much more than aesthetics. They do so much for us, most of which we aren't even aware of. And yet, we may often find ourselves wishing they were different: smaller, bigger, lighter, darker, more able, smoother, softer, prettier... And it's not our fault really. For years, we have been conditioned to focus on how we look, not on who we are, to compare ourselves to filtered versions of others, to be 'beach body ready', to believe that we are less than because of the number on the scale. And we're tired of it.

When we created The List, this was a huge part of our mission: To fight against diet culture. To show people that they are more than their bodies. To show that everybody in every body is unique and special and worth celebrating. And to play a small part in helping people learn to love and accept themselves once again... and that's why we've revisited and expanded this list of books to help you love your body with the team at the Library.

There is a huge movement happening online at the moment - some may say not big enough yet - that encourages us to love ourselves, every part of ourselves, to feel body postive and move towards body acceptance and even ambivalence. Because how great would it be to just not care anymore? Society is changing and these books are a part of that change.

 

TW: This article contains mentions of eating disorders and disordered eating.

 

1.  The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonia Renee Taylor

World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to wake up to the indoctrinated body shame we’ve come to accept. In this book, she shows us how self-love can be a radical act but, if we act together to celebrate our collective, we might just build a more just and compassionate world for everyone.

'The Body Is Not An Apology' wrestles you free from the habit of your shame and declares you whole, right now, just as you are. To follow its revelations and teachings leaves you different on the other side and undoubtedly more yourself." - Prentis Hemphill, founder and Director of The Black Embodiment Initiative.

Borrow here.

                  

2.  Own It: How To Build Confidence, Completely Love Yourself and Embrace Your Body by Jessica Jones

This is for the generation of women that have been told time and again that you need to drastically change to ever have a hope of happiness. For the women who feel that confidence, success, and joy are for 'other people'.

Motivational comedian and award-winning blogger Jess Jones - aka Instagram's The Fat Funny One - will help you silence the voices in your head that tell you that you are not good enough and teach you to own exactly who you are, as you are.

Borrow here.

 

3.  Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West

"Women are told, from birth, that it's our job to be small: physically small, small in our presence, and small in our impact on the world. We're supposed to spend our lives passive, quiet and hungry. I want to obliterate that expectation..."

In Shrill, Lindy recounts how she went from being the butt of people's jokes, to telling her own brand of jokes - ones that carry with them a serious message and aren't told at someone else's expense. She reveals the obstacles and stereotyping she has had to overcome to make herself heard, in a society that doesn't think women (especially fat women and feminists) are or can be funny. Bursting with her trademark black humour, Shrill will have you crying and laughing out loud in all the good ways.

Borrow here.

 

4.  Am I Ugly? by Michelle Elman

A captivating and deeply personal memoir that describes Michelle’s childhood experiences of life-threatening health problems, long stays in hospital and fifteen complex surgeries that left her scarred, both mentally and physically. The narrative follows her journey from illness to health, and from childhood to adulthood as she deals with her body confidence issues to embrace both her scars and her body – and help others do the same.

The library team told us: "Michelle visited Guernsey a couple of years ago and gave a talk at the Library. Her honest, life-affirming story of discovering strength and beauty at the end of struggle is both inspirational and uplifting."

Borrow here.

 

5.  Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Part inspiration, part memoir, Untamed explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet the expectations of the world, and instead dare to listen to and trust in the voice deep inside us. From the beloved New York Times bestselling author, speaker and activist Glennon Doyle. This book was the hit of 2020 for a reason. If it wasn't on your 'To Read' list before, it needs to be.

Borrow here.

 

6.  Women Living Deliciously by Florence Given

'Women Living Deliciously' wants us to fall in love with our lives. It will help women uncover the sense of awe and wonder that has been buried by the layers of shame, perfectionism and self-objectification that get piled on us by the patriarchy.

For too long we have internalised the belief that our bodies are things to be looked at - instead of lived in. That it's embarrassing to fully express ourselves. That we cannot trust the parts of ourselves that are so full of desire. This book will unpack the many barriers women face when trying to access joy so that they can discover the delicious life that's theirs for the taking.

Borrow here.

 

 

7.  Body Neutral: A Revolutionary Guide To Overcoming Body Image Issues, by Jessi Kneeland

Have you ever thought that if only you could change the way you looked, your life would be better? It's so easy to imagine that by changing the outside of our bodies, we'd feel better on the inside. But we all know that even if we could magically attain a so-called 'perfect' body, our problems wouldn't actually be solved. That's because body image issues are never just about the body: they're always about something deeper inside.

As a longtime personal trainer and coach, Jessi Kneeland has seen hundreds of clients achieve their fitness goals but still feel trapped in a web of body hatred, anxiety, obsession and dysmorphia. Searching for a solution, Kneeland set out on a quest to discover what it truly takes to help people understand, process and heal their body image issues for good.

Borrow here.

8.  Ugly: Giving Us Back Our Beauty Standards by Anita Bhagwandas

We've all had those moments. The ones where you look in the mirror and nothing feels ok looking back at you. For Anita Bhagwandas, this started when she was a child growing up in South Wales, and it created an enduring internal torment about her looks. We're all told that this sadness is just part of 'being a woman'.

We're encouraged to obsess over it and go to any length to change it, but we're also ordered to 'just love ourselves' from every corner of the internet. But what if there was another way out of the beauty myth? In 'Ugly', Anita uncovers where these beauty standards started.

Borrow here.

 

9.  Fat Talk: Coming of Age in a Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith

Change the way you talk about food, weight, and self-worth, forever. We live in a world designed to make us hate our bodies. By the time children start school, most have learned that 'fat' is bad. As they get older, many pursue thinness to survive in a society that ties their value to their size. Parents worry both about the risks of their kids fixating on unrealistic beauty standards - and about them becoming fat.

Meanwhile, multibillion-dollar industries thrive on our insecurities, and the medical system pushes weight loss at almost any cost. Talking to researchers, doctors, and activists, as well as parents and young people, Virginia Sole-Smith lays bare how diet culture has perpetuated a crisis of disordered eating and body hatred. 'Fat Talk' is a deeply researched book that will transform the conversation about health and size.

Borrow here.