Confessional poetry at its best and most brutal. This should be required reading for all Americans in our culture and for all people.

Blythe Baird tells her stories, and at least one reality of what it is like living as a young woman pre- and post-#MeToo, through accessible and clever verse. She delves into topics many of us - regardless of gender - are scared to speak about out loud: trauma, mental illness, and the type of feminism that isn't always considered 'cool' by the bros.

Baird recounts the struggles of developing and overcoming a mindset consumed by disordered eating with grim yet admirable clarity. She speaks truth to the ways in which this society has been conditioned to praise weight loss, regardless of how it happens or what damage it causes. She weaves in her personal experiences with sexual assault, grappling with her sexual orientation, and relationships with friends, partners, and family.

If My Body Could Speak is a product of turning art into what you need it to be. Crafting your stories, even those that haunt you, into something you can love and hope others can benefit from as well.

Honest, real, and amazing. It acted as a reminder to forgive myself (and asking forgiveness to my body) and tackled issues I do care about.

4/5

(I received a digital ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Whatever juice Button Poetry is sipping, they’d better sign me up for more of it because every time I come across their books I know I am in for an awakening.

So, Blythe Baird, ever heard of her? Well, this was my first encounter and I don’t know how I am feeling and that’s the truth of it. For, “Read Pocket Sized Feminism,” is a reminder of the effect of choosing to either stand up or stay silent in the presence of injustice. “To Live in the body of a Survivor” tore me to shreds while “Smoke” reminded me of the things we give up, “Lipstick” of the privileges we are taught and “Skirt Steak Girls” tabled my biases. If you are to read any poem in this book I’d recommend “The Aesthetic of Rape Culture”-because when someone’s version of truth closely hits home, you cannot pretend to not see it for what it is.

Now, I have to reel in the credits: thank you Netgalley and Button Poetry for the eARC, and Blythe– it was a pleasure meeting you.

As a women I can relate with the need to be perfect. Growing up having a sister who battled with an eating disorder I can relate to young girls and body issues. Many of the poems encompassed genterations and feeling of any age. Well written.