Written and narrated by Casey Johnston (aka @swolewoman on Instagram), the memoir follows her journey from diet culture and yo-yo dieting to becoming a weightlifter. The author first describes her learned dissatisfaction with her body and how she turned to severe caloric restriction and intensive cardiovascular training thinking it would make her thinner. She begins to question the mainstream notions of both diet culture and the hypermasculinity ideal that suffering is growth (“no pain, no gain”), and begins to redefine what strength looks like.

Part memoir, part physiology discussion, and part rejection of diet culture, I was impressed with how the author spoke with authenticity and took such care in discussing sensitive topics like eating disorders. Even if she never was formally diagnosed, she recognizes how the field has shifted and calls out her own disordered eating behaviors. It was such an intimate listening, almost like I was reading the diary of the author as she comes into her own, growing in both strength and confidence.

I wish I could share this book with so many in the thralls of self-doubt and body dysmorphia - I think we could all learn from it!

Fans of the following may like this book: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body,

Reviewed as part of #ARC from #NetGalley. Many thanks to Hachette Audio/Grand Central Pub for the opportunity to read and review..

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This review will be posted to Instagram @AutobiographiCole on or around the release date!

Hi Casey Johnston, were you trying to rip me open emotionally? Or are we pretending this is just informative nonfiction...?

As someone already engaging a lot with health science/eating disorder content (books, podcasts, etc), I felt very prepared for this one and nothing really shocked me. What made a difference for me in this book, as compared to that other content, was her perspective and the balance she struck between gym stories, personal struggles, and science. I felt so connected with her in the human moments before and between the gym journey- like crying in the best buy bathroom or trying to stay safe as a woman on dating apps- that by the end of the book I was thinking "okay how is this going to translate for her in the gym?" (yes correct, I do now hate myself lol)

Her chapters and descriptions of her eating, especially in the bulking and cutting chapters, could absolutely be sensitive to anyone who has struggled with eating. However I don't necessarily fault her for that. This is, above all, her story ABOUT struggling with eating and exercise. The small moments describing her mindset while eating or her disentangling her emotional responses from food were both stressful and kind of comforting (for someone experiencing the same journey), and if anything I wanted more of these moments and less of the handbook-style calorie numbers and protein descriptions. While the science throughout the book was very informative, it was her emotions and like personhood that kept me engaged.

And I just want to give it up for the chapters involving her mom. If it hurt as much to experience and write about as it did to read (probably more), Casey my dear I'm sending you flowers. And let's include the dad chapters in there too because what the hell man. Those were beautiful and DEEPLY sad chapters. Starting the book with avoiding your dad's calls in college and not knowing why your consciously doing it and having us find out slowly, over the course of your lifting journey, the completely understandable reasons for avoiding that relationship?? stab me in the CHEST. It read almost like a real therapy journey- with lifting being the therapy- where at the start, all you know is the feelings and physical response and by the end, your brain has processed and delivered all of the details and reasons in HD clarity. I have read some reviews of this book saying they disliked the jumping around and disorganization of the content, but honestly that was the best thing about this book!

All in all, I really loved this story! It is definitely not for everyone, but it was (unfortunately) for me. If I start lifting in 2025, mind your business <3
thank you netgalley and grand central publishing for the audio arc!

The quality of this audiobook was great. The transition between chapters was seamless and I was able to understand her words throughout the entire production.
The content was almost exactly like my own personal experience in lifting so I am a little biased on my opinion! I liked how it flip flopped between her journey and also the science behind what she was learning. Great read for anyone who is interested in lifting or who already lifts. I was cheering with her when she did her final deadlift! Thank you for the ARC!

This was a pretty good book about Casey’s self discovery in and around fitness,
I went into this thinking it was going to be more of a motivational read so I was let down in that aspect,

It was interesting to sit with the thoughts of women’s bodies and how the world looks at them. And finding life in the gym.

I enjoyed the audiobook a lot, it made the experience so much better. I think that nonfiction is better with audio!

A Physical Education did a great job of blending both a memoir and non-fiction novel. I often find memoirs to be confusing in their plot structure, because most do not follow a chronological timeline. While this novel did not follow a specific chronological timeline and bounced back-and-forth between memoir, and the facts revolving around lifting, I was not as frustrated given that this book was part memoir, part scientific. I believe the author did a wonderful job of explaining the sport of lifting through the female lens, while also sharing personal antidotes and how it helped to transform her life. While there were topics of eating disorders and disordered eating, I felt that the author was mindful of those topics.

Listening to this audiobook was an enjoyable experience. The pacing of the novel was just right, and the narrator was easy to understand and portrayed the story well. The author of this book is the narrator as well, so I felt a strong connection with the story in the way it was portrayed.

picked up A Physical Education because I’ve been thinking it’s finally time for me to start lifting weights and building up my strength but I didn’t know where to start. This book was exactly what I needed. Casey Johnston writes in such a real, honest way about how she got into strength training, and how it completely changed her life physically, emotionally, and even socially.

One of the best parts of her story? She ended up losing her boyfriend during this journey… and honestly, it seemed like the best thing she could’ve lost. As she got stronger, her whole mindset shifted, her attitude about food, her appetite, and how she felt about her body all changed in really empowering ways. I saw some of my unhealthy habits in the pages she described overcoming.

What I loved most is how down-to-earth Casey is. She’s not trying to sell you a perfect image or act like a fitness influencer. She’s been through it, figured out what works, and wants to share it with others. After finishing the book, I followed her on Instagram because I could tell she’s legit. She knows her stuff, and she’s relatable.

This book gave me the motivation I needed to start moving toward strength training without feeling overwhelmed. I have a tool box to deal with bro’s at the gym although they really shouldn’t be a problem and learned some of the weight-gym etiquette. If you’ve been thinking about lifting or just want to feel stronger in your own body, I definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio ARC. I grew up during the same time period where everyone was trying to be unrealistically skinny. The author and I went through a similar psychological rollercoaster; however, I fell in love and stuck with running.

I really enjoyed this book and know that this can help a lot of women still stuck in the diet mindset. A great read!