The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love (16pt Large Print Edition)

My mission in life is to help women feel beautiful and love their bodies for what they are a vessel to go through this world having an amazing human experience. I am always reading books that inspire me to serve my clients better and when I listened to Tonya's approach to self-love, I just got amazed at this new approach to change the perspective of our bodies.Unconditional and unapologetic love for our bodies is the first weapon we can have to defend ourselves about what others think we are. By not defining our value by the looks of our bodies, we can fight back, stand up for ourselves stronger because we can see that we are whole, nothing is wrong with us and whatever comes our way is only a reflection of the insecurities, prejudices and hatred from others.Sanding in our light gives us the platform to feel worthy and good enough, it gives us permission to love ourselves and our bodies unconditionally.Sonya explains is a very accurate and passionate way why we develop and suffer from poor body image, the effect on our self esteem and how to fight back. This book has gained a special place in my "Top books" shelf that will continue to use to keep inspiring others. Thank you Sonya!

Great book for anyone who is interested in Health At Every Size or Body Positivity or Size Diversity. It isn't about being any certain size--it is about how most of us hate our bodies for being too fat, too thin, to weirdly shaped, too dark, too light, too speckled, too scarred, too old, too young, too (insert race or ethnicity here), too tall, too short, too weak-looking, too strong-looking.I loved listening to this on hikes with my dog and at the gym. It gave me such a boost in mood and attitude and helped me make peace with my too old, too wrinkled, too soft, too white, parts too large and parts too small, chronic-pain-possessing, body.I can't say I agree with 100% of her opinions about Body Terrorism--but I can say that I agree with 90% of every word in this book which is a lot to agree with, and that it is a fabulous book for 100% of women to listen to and for any men who have doubts about their bodies.What a fantasticly wonderful world it would be if everyone listened to or read this book and began loving his or her own body and accepting the bodies of others without judgment!

Struggling to love yourself just as you are?Looking to remove years of societal oppression & media bias?Yearning to stop the vicious cycle of body shaming?This book is for YOU!An inclusive, thought provoking read with plenty of room for reflection & conversation.A declaration on body positivity filled with tools to get you through & a dose of grace we are ALL yearning for.Taylor is a unapologetic force to be reckoned with & we areALL the BETTER for it.A great tool to accompany this read - Listen to Taylor’s conversation with Brené Brown on the podcast “Unlocking us”

I needed this book more than I could ever imagine. The author delivers such deeply honest snd thought provoking lessons, made me question my motives for many things in my life, and is helping me not only learn to love myself, but love myself in a way that I never dreamed possible. I'm grateful to the person who recommended it, but so much more so to the author.

Took me a very long time to get through this book, and not because of the book itself, but rather what this book asks of me. I wasn't ready to dive into learning more about radical self love when I first started reading, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. This book offers so much and I am forever grateful for the questions asked throughout that really forced me to lovingly look at my own beliefs and assumptions about my body and other bodies.

Ms. Taylor has written an amazing book. She provides a very real lessons learned as to how to get to self love and the impact it can have on your life. You have to examine your life and address those things in your life in order to be an agent of change. Stop apologizing for who you are and be all that you ask of yourself. This is one of the best books I have read. I am working on me.

If you struggle with body image and/or your relationship with food and clothing, this book is for you!

There are few books in the recent past that have shaken my thinking and brought me to life like this one. I won't detail my own struggles with body, image, physical self, anxiety, and buying into layers of fear and hate and pain, but that's all part of what brought me to this book. The concept of radical self love sounded brutally far away from the ways I moved, thought of myself, wrapped myself in narratives. As when I saw her speak, Sonya Renee-Taylor, in this book of clear and loving genius, offers frame after frame, idea after idea, and new option after new option that had really revolutionized they way I treat myself/my body and the options I see in such shifts and movements for others.What if we accepted people as they are and not on our hierarchical frameworks of size, ability, and on and on. What if that acceptance reversed some of the hateful ways we set up policy, politics, society, and entertainment? These shifts, ones rooted not just in body positivity but in radical self love are, to me, essential to public health.As a writer, I have to also comment on the absolute pleasure of reading this text. Some turns of phrases were so bright and insightful and powerful I would lose my breath. All that while giving us a set of practical, specific, and valuable tools for what has been, to me, greater mental, physical and self image health and better political and social framing for the road ahead.My suggestion is that this book is an intervention for the world. I wish I had read it before the brutality of body shame and body hierarchy had built it's palace inside me. This is a dismantling and and an inspiration. Get it.

Too bad there is no Italian version of the book. I am telling you Sonya, we need this so badly. You think we are a modern and cool society over here in the glamorous boot. Not at all: bias in the workplace is everywhere, violence on women bodies is highly tolerated and men generally are afraid of women. Which means, because the power is in their hands, we have to power to remove the glass ceiling. This needs to be translated in Italian so badly. Thanks a lot for your work!

Incredible... such a new perspective to the typical “love your body”... made me think hard about my life events. Sonya Renee Taylor is incredible and extremely talented. Wow

An für sich it das ein sehr amerikanisch politisches Buch, wer damit ein Problem hat und trotzdem das Buch haben will, sollte beruhigt sein nach ungefähr 1/5 des Buches wird es weniger, aber deshalb würde ich keine Sterne abziehen.Mein größtes Problem mit dem Buch ist es, dass obwohl die Autorin den Eindruck erweckt für alle „missfits“ zu kämpfen und auch immer wieder versucht Behinderte/Schwule/Transgender einzubinden, besteht das Buch doch doch zu 90% aus den Problemen einer übergewichtigen schwarzen Frau und somit reduziert sich die gesamte Message auf „Die Medien/Gesellschaft diktieren dir wie du zu sein hat und alle Hollywood Filme sind toxisch“. Frauen die zu groß sind, sowie Männer werden überhaupt nicht einbezogen.Die Menschen die ich in meinem Leben getroffen haben, die anders waren, aber trotzdem glücklich mit ihren Körpern (vor allem homosexuelle, diese werden im buch als menschen mit abweichenden Körpern betrachtet, deswegen bleibe ich beim wording) haben keine Probleme mit hetero Pärchen auf der Leinwand, die fühlen sich nicht unterrepräsentiert in Medien, weil sie sich nicht als „anders“ betrachten, die sind einfach Menschen. Sowie auch Menschen die gern Ananas Pizza essen, auch Menschen sind, nur eben mit einem anderen Geschmack.Alles in allem erweckt die Autorin bei mir das Gefühl, als hätte sie Probleme mit sich ins reine zu kommen und jedes bisschen Medien würde sie triggern, aber versteht mich nicht falsch, wenn man das Buch liest gibt es durch aus Dinge die man daraus lernen kann, vor allem die Art und Weisen wie man mit anderen umgeht.

Absolutely Life changing. Absolutely recommend everyone read this. It really helped me with confidence, self love & body shame. B

I advise this book