Publish Her Anthology: Dear Body

“For a woman, writing publicly about her body is an act of courage in a society that commodifies, objectifies, and violates her body throughout her life—until it is ignored and rendered invisible in her elder years. Writing about her body is an act of self-respect, and one of the most radical things a woman can do is respect her body. …

One of the most radical things a human can do is view their body as more than a collection of functions in service to their ego, to see it as a vessel for their soul—our shapeless, ethereal, ever-evolving soul. The soul doesn’t care if we win or lose in the traditional sense, it only cares that we live a life that is true to us. …

The essays in this anthology shatter generations of shame carried among women by tenderly and triumphantly speaking to the unique yet shared experience of being a soul in the form of a female body. From eating disorders and injuries to childbirth and menstruation, these stories are a homecoming.”

—Rachel Allyn, Ph.D., licensed psychologist and author of The Pleasure Is all Yours

Dear Body includes the following essays from these authors:

Introduction by Rachel Allyn, Ph.D.

Absence and Ovaries by Chris Olsen

Agency by Katrina DeWit

Annual Performance Review for My Hips by Suzanne O’Brien

Bantam Weights by Carolyn Alessio

The Bathing Suit by Heidi Schneider

Birthday Letter to My Body by Lucinda Cummings

Built Like a Goddess by Lezlie Williams Mitchell

Closet Talk by Jody Vallee Smith

Coming Home by Olivia Beaton

Dance by Pat Rippey

Fat Is a Descriptive Word by Samantha Puc

Go Your Own Way by Marijean Oldham

I’m Here, I’m Here by Wendy Altschuler

In My Skin by Shawntan Howell

I Was Meant to Be by Gracie Azua

Lessons on Love and Acceptance by Jaimee Alonso-Lundheim

The Magic of Being Mixed by Melody Joy

Move by Sally Vardaman

My Body Is My Temple by Autumn Kepley

Outstretched by Amy Jorquera

Reclaiming the Temple by Sarah Tillemont

Sh a tt er d by Katharine Malaga

She Can See Clearly Now by Kathleen English Cadmus

Slivers of Pleasure by Krista Hanson

Someday, Somewhere by Ann Kempke

Somewhere Between by Karisa Connor

A Strong and Capable Vessel by Rachael Palm

There Is No Separation, Divorce or Shared Custody by Susan Justiniano

Three of a Kind by Layla Bryndzia

Wasted Time by Ann V. Klotz

What My 22-Year-Old Self Didn’t Know by D.C. Dubs

Cover art: Kprecia Ambers

About Publish Her Grants Many women face obstacles in publishing today. Even more so if she is a woman of color, a woman with a disability, a member of the LGBTQ+ community or any combination of these. Publish Her is on a mission to disrupt the status quo and remove barriers for underrepresented authors. We do so, in part, by providing access to publishing services and programs through grants.