Soft Tissue Damage

by Anna Whitwham

'An astounding book, moving between shadow and light with an honesty and self-awareness I found completely compelling. There is a power to being vulnerable, but also a power to fighting back.Whitwham does both these things with eloquence and fire.' —JESSIE BURTON

'Soft Tissue Damage places Whitwham firmly in the tradition of Joyce Carol Oates, Norman Mailer and other novelists who have evoked the blood and spit of the world's most brutal and beautiful sport.' —SAM PARKER, BRITISH GQ

'A compelling, visceral and tender book about grief and loss, life and death, identity and sexuality, written by a daughter, a mother and an aspiring fighter.' —DONALD McRAE

'This is prose that glints with truth.' —NIKITA LALWANI


Soft Tissue Damage tells the story of author ANNA WHITWHAM'S lifelong interest in boxing manifesting itself in the physical act of getting into the ring to fight. From her first tentative training sessions through bruising sparring and building up to a full-blooded fight, Whitwham charts the transformative impact the sport—and all its complicated implications—has on her during a profoundly difficult period dealing with the grief of losing her mother to cancer. Tender, insightful, honest and full of startling and original thought, this is a book that fully examines what the human body is both capable and incapable of, a book that examines what the human body truly means in its capacity for sexuality and violence, love and death, strength and vulnerability.

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 27, 2025

Reviews

[Susan]

4.5 stars. Captivating. I have always been fascinated by those who choose to engage in such a violent sport, wondering why. Whitwham explores her own journey into this world, as a woman and mother, and grieving daughter. This intimate, spare, thoughtful memoir was not like anything I’ve read. Superb prose, simple and elegant.

[Lena]

violent. physical. uplifting.


this book made me ponder my own anger, my connections to the women in my life, my approach to writing about both

[Jemima Barnes]

devastating. beautiful. so unique and well-written, what a bloody stunner!

[Victoria]

This story recounts the author’s experience of boxing, from sparring to real fights. It describes her feelings and how boxing changed her life, set against the backdrop of her mother’s death from cancer. It’s a story of strong and soft female bodies, of building a body and of seeing one disappear, of chosen and unwanted pain. The parallels between the two stories are very touching — seemingly different, but ultimately so similar. Many of Whitwham’s feelings resonated with me, and I also viewed her relationship with her mother and her grief with a sense of longing. A beautiful book.

https://redheadwithabrain.ch/index.ph...

[Bert]

Year of Reading by Shakespeare and Company #10

'An astounding book, moving between shadow and light with an honesty and self-awareness I found completely compelling. As an account of how to handle our private and public hurts, and of a woman’s rage, and how pain and beauty is always interwoven, it felt unique. There is a power to being vulnerable, but also a power to fighting back. Anna Whitwham does both these things, with eloquence and fire.' —Jessie Burton

[Erin Elizabeth]

Visceral descriptions; interesting and unique premise. The text was engaging; as a person born in a female body and a person who has birthed four children from this body, I found themes around embodiedness rich and intriguing. In addition to being about boxing, it is also about managing grief and the unbearable. A rich text.

[kitkat]

i read this in one sitting and i loved it so much!! she writes about grief so beautifully there was so much love in the parts about her mum. the book describes the awkwardness and insecurity of being a woman and trying to take up space in a world where it feels like it shouldn’t belong to you so perfectly. i loved it so much wowowowow some serious crying took place

[Scott]

"Rings and knots of joy and grief all interlaced and locking"

The writing grabs you and doesn't let go.
A powerful and wonderful read.

[Sara]

This was amazing. After her mother’s death from cancer, the author takes up boxing. Learning to take the physical pain to help heal the emotional pain.

[Siyang Wei]

interesting contemplation of what boxing can mean, didn't love the prose, found it hard to really connect with the protagonist tbh