My Body, My Words: a collection of bodies

by Amye Archer, Loren Kleinman

The war on body image is fought behind closed doors, in dressing rooms, closets, bathrooms, and in the darkest corners of our society. It is a war that has claimed many lives and will continue to do so as it rages, a war rooted in self-hatred and self-loathing, born out of the media and pop-culture’s idea of what it means to be beautiful. Beauty pageants, swimsuit calendars, “thigh gap,” for longer than we care to admit, Americans have allowed our children- girls and boys- to participate in a culture where they are rewarded for how they look rather than their strong minds and hearts.

Thankfully, the body positivity revolution has begun.

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“In My Body, My Words, we take an unforgettable walk with writers through an array of physical temples, from abuse to discovery to triumph. We see our own spirit in these stories of glory and pain and uncover ultimate truths that illuminate our outer and inner selves.”
~ Morowa Yejidé, author of Time of the A Novel
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“My Body, My Words is an honest, heartfelt collection of fearless essays that is not to be missed."
~ Chloé McFeters, director of You Look a Lot Like Me and author of The Ally Within
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“A gorgeous and powerful anthology exploring all things body image, My Body, My Words will take you on a journey through experiences of fear, hate, love, and evolution that writers of all ages, body types and backgrounds experience with their bodies, while calling for a self-love and a body positivity revolution.”
~ E. Ce. Miller, Bustle Magazine

“My Body, My Words is a groundbreaking essay collection edited by poet Loren Kleinman and author of the memoir Fat Girl, Skinny Amye Barrese Archer. It features poignant narratives of sexual assault, eating disorders, miscarriage and nude modeling from a diverse group of men and women, including New York Times best-selling authors Beverly Donofrio and Susan Shapiro. My Body, My Words explores the origins of body image ideals, the dangers of the medical profession’s insensitivities and learning to navigate the connection between inner and outer selves.”
~ Sara-Kate Astrove, SheKnows

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“Editors Amye Archer and Loren Kleinman put together a collection of body-centric essays that is so much greater than the sum of its (beautiful) parts. The anthology My Body, My Wordsis rich with stories of gender transformation, dressing-room breakdowns, yo-yo diets, judgmental grandmas, and falling in love. I loved Megan Galbraith's sexy tale of a summer camp counselor skinny dip. Plus, 50 percent of the book sale proceeds go to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.”
~ Hannah Howard, Pop Sugar, author of Feast

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 25, 2018

About the author

Amye Archer writes, mothers, and teaches in Northeast, PA. She has an MFA in Creative Writing, a very handsome cat, and a Sam’s Club membership. Her memoir, Fat Girl, Skinny is forthcoming from Big Table Publishing. Amye’s full-length poetry collection, Bangs, was released in 2014. She has also published two chapbooks: A Shotgun Life and No One Ever Looks Up. Amye’s work has appeared in Nailed Magazine, PMS: Poem Memoir Story, PANK, and her ex-boyfriend’s garbage can. She is the creator of The Fat Girl Blog. You can read more about her at www.amyearcher.com. Follow her on Twitter @amyearcher.