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Fit Notes: Feminist Writing on Illness & Work
Fit Notes is a book of feminist stories, essays and poetry exploring the intersections of illness, bodies, gender and work.
In this illuminating and essential anthology, Ache brings together nineteen feminist writers to explore illness, pain, gender and work. Sickness is an unavoidable part of life, whether we live with chronic health conditions or are knocked by bouts of illness.
In Fit Notes, writers consider what it means to live in a society that prioritises productivity above all else, while living in a body that resists shift work, desk jobs and commutes. Our writers ask what it means to live, work and rest in a body that hurts.
An artist joins the dots between rest, love and survival. A waitress wonders if Shakespeare’s players ever skived from their acting jobs. A bartender sleeps in a pub toilet. A librarian removes forty-thousand books from a library and tends to her weeping fistula. A poet’s application for PIP is denied.
In this illuminating and essential anthology, Ache brings together nineteen feminist writers to explore illness, pain, gender and work. Sickness is an unavoidable part of life, whether we live with chronic health conditions or are knocked by bouts of illness.
In Fit Notes, writers consider what it means to live in a society that prioritises productivity above all else, while living in a body that resists shift work, desk jobs and commutes. Our writers ask what it means to live, work and rest in a body that hurts.
An artist joins the dots between rest, love and survival. A waitress wonders if Shakespeare’s players ever skived from their acting jobs. A bartender sleeps in a pub toilet. A librarian removes forty-thousand books from a library and tends to her weeping fistula. A poet’s application for PIP is denied.
138 pages, Paperback
Published August 7, 2025
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September 16, 2026
A wonderful variety of strong feminist writing. Susanna Fasciolo's biography was my favourite piece, though: 'Susanna Fasciolo was born in Italy and lives in South East London. She is a worker and sometimes an artist. She has back pain and no generational wealth.'
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review