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.
Selected for World Book Night 2023
‘An often shocking reminder of the insidious sexism at large … lucid and warm.’ - Times Literary Supplement
‘‘… this exquisite memoir…candor makes Simpson’s narrative shine, providing a beacon of light and hope for readers who’ve been impacted by illness. In a sea of cancer memoirs, this stands out.’
- Publishers Weekly
‘She explores the idea that functionality is connected to an individual’s worth with grace and dark humour.’ - Irish Times
‘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
‘It packs the wallop of a wrecking ball but reads as easily as a page-turner.’ - The List
‘A joyful, angry, beautiful air-punch of a book, and so truthful – I felt as though each word was written on my own body.’ - Kirstin Innes
‘By turns poignant and searingly honest, this book is a wise and witty reflection on all that it means to have a body.’ - Claire Askew
‘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
‘I love Catherine Simpson’s work... One Body is... the story of what it is like to exist in a woman’s body. It’s fresh, insightful and moving, and it’s a book that every man should read.’ - Graeme Macrae Burnet
A vivid framing of the mystery, confusion and even terror tangled up with our young bodies in the ’70s.’ - Mary Anne Hobbs
