Shortlisted in Scotland's National Book Awards

By the time she reached her fifties, Catherine had experienced period pain, childbirth, and early menopause, alongside love and laughter, a career in journalism, and raising two daughters. Like many of her peers, along the way she'd dieted, jogged, sweated, tanned, permed, and plucked-always attempting to conform to prevailing standards of "acceptable womanhood."

But when a medical crisis comes along, she can no longer pummel her body into submission and is forced to take stock. From growing up on a farm where veterinarians were more common than doctors, and where illness was "a nuisance," she now faces the nuisance of a lifetime.

One Body is the demystifying, relatable, often hilarious, and sometimes hair-raising story of how Catherine navigates her treatment and the emotions and reflections it provokes. And how she comes to drop the unattainable standards imposed on her body, and simply appreciate the skin she is in.

About the Author
Catherine Simpson is a novelist, journalist, poet and short story writer based in Edinburgh. Her memoir When I Had a Little Sister was published by 4th Estate in February 2019 to great acclaim, and her debut novel Truestory was published in 2015. In 2013 she received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award for the opening chapters of Truestory. Her work has been published in various anthologies and magazines, published online and broadcast on BBC Radio. Born on a Lancashire dairy farm, she is now based in Edinburgh.

Reviews

"Simpson reveals - in an often hilarious book - how she confronted her devastating diagnosis, and how it made her love her body again."

-- Mail on Sunday

'Funny, bold, wry and, at times, enraging in the best possible way, this exploration ... has an incredible energising quality ... imbued with spirit and a real passion for life.'

-- Mary Paulson-Ellis

'It packs the wallop of a wrecking ball but reads as easily as a page-turner.'

-- Lucy Ribchester, The List



Book Information
ISBN 9781913393342
Author Catherine Simpson
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Saraband
Publisher Saraband