In The Body Of The World: A Memoir by Eve Ensler

about book:

From the bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues and one of Newsweek's 150 Women Who Changed the World, a visionary memoir of separation and connection - to the body, the self, and the world.

Playwright, author, and activist eve Ensler has devoted her life to the female body - how to talk about it, how to protect and value it.  Yet she spent much of her life disassociated from her own body - a disconnection brought on by her father's sexual abuse and her mother's remoteness.  "Because I did not, could not, inhabit my body or the Earth," she writes, "I could not feel or know their pain."

But Ensler is shocked out of her distance.  While working in the Congo, she is shattered to encounter the horrific rape and violence inflicted on the women there.  Soon after, she is diagnosed with uterine cancer, and through months of harrowing treatment, she is forced to become first and foremost a body - pricked, punctured, cut, scanned.  It is then that all distance is erased.  As she connects her own illness to the devastation of the Earth, her life force to the resilience of humanity, she is finally, fully - and gratefully - joined to the body of the world.

Unflinching, generous, and inspiring, Ensler calls on us all to embody our connection to and responsibility for the world.

my thoughts:

Powerful.  That is the word that springs to mind when I think of this book.  The writing and emotion within these pages was beyond what I could have imagined.  This book is the epitome of an inspiring read.  It was captivating, beautiful, raw, unapologetic, humorous, uplifting, and emotional.  This is a book that must be read and its one that I plan on recommending to family and friends.

Its a short book that packs quite an emotional punch - you can't help but find yourself laughing and crying throughout it all.  I read it during my lunch break and have to admit that I would wipe the tears from eyes rather quickly, lest someone see me crying at my desk.  I just couldn't help myself - this book drew me in so easily and quickly that before I knew it I was reading about Ensler's exploding poop bag and the women of the Congo who inspired her.  The details were vivid, gritty, and real - you could feel Ensler's pain as the doctor shoved the tube inside of her and you couldn't help but cry out in horror as you read about the unimaginable atrocities the women of the Congo experienced.  This book was intense and showed me just how powerful the written word could be.  I am still in awe of the book, as I have only just finished it a few hours ago.  This book will stay with me for quite some time, forever even.

I'm not sure what else there is to say about this book, except:  Read It!  Seriously, you must.  It is the type of book that reaches into you and grabs you tight and won't let go.  It makes you see the world in a different light and makes you think about your life in a new way.  And it makes you think about the ways our bodies are connected to us emotionally and physically and how we must come to terms with our past in order to look ahead toward the future.  In The Body Of The World is a thought-provoking read that you won't be able to forget. 

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.