Nonfiction – Self-Help – Death, Grief, Bereavement – Eating Disorders & Body Image – Psychology – Mental Health

RELEASE DATE: 3/18/2025 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER’S WAREHOUSE)

A guide to living and making peace with your ever-changing body

Have you ever felt like your body has failed you? Maybe youre not as quick or as strong as you used to be, or an illness has wrecked your sense of self, or no matter what diet you follow, you still feel uncomfortable in your own skin. So you go to war with your body for what it can no longer dowhen the truth is, our bodies are always on our side.

In This Is Body Grief, disability advocate and recovery expert Jane Mattinglylays out a groundbreaking approach to mourning and accepting ones ever-changing body. Like all grief, she says, Body Grief cannot be overcome but felt in all its complexity. Dismantling the narrative that your body is against you, she presents new ways to cope with your body’s fluctuating abilities with self-compassion and grace. Along the way, she walks you through the seven stages of Body Grieffrom dismissal, shock, and self-blame to hopelessness and hope, and eventual body trustoffering wisdom for how to make space for each difficult emotion as it arises.

Sharing stories from everyday people in the throes of Body Grief as well as her own journey as a newly-disabled womanfrom the first of many harrowing hospital visits that resulted in her own life-altering diagnosis, to having to use a rollator on her wedding day because she could no longer walk safely on her own, to accepting the need for a hysterectomy in her early 30sMattingly shows that although healing isnt a linear journey, it begins when we trust and work in tandem with our bodies.

AUTHOR BIO:
Jayne Mattingly is a disability advocate and eating disorder recovery coach. She is the CEO of Recovery Love and Care, a global virtual eating disorder recovery coaching curriculum and training program. She is also the Founder of the nonprofit The AND Initiative, which aims to provide inspiration, advocacy, resources, support, and the gifting mobility aids to those with chronic illness and physical disabilities. Jayne lives in South Carolina with her husband and pets.

“We all need an opportunity to sit gently and thoughtfully with our grief. Consider this book your invitation.” —Rachel Cargle, author ofA Renaissance of Her Own

“In a world that teaches us to ignore, control, or conquer our bodies, Jayne Mattingly intervenes with a much-needed revision to the default framework. Through her own hard-earned wisdom and professional expertise, she offers us language and tools to mend the fractured relationships we’ve developed with our own bodies. She guides us–gently, powerfully, and tangibly–through the process of building a sturdy home within the only bodies we’ll ever have–a desperately needed map for every single one of us.” —Rebekah Taussig, PhD, author ofSitting Pretty

“I laughed, I cried, and I related all while readingThis Is Body Grief. Jayne beautifully articulates the universal feeling of Body Grief and explores it on both macro and micro levels. It is the perfect blend of informative and vulnerable.” —Jacqueline Child, co-founder of Dateability

“As a Black disabled woman, Body Grief is my daily story. Mattingly reminds us that ‘without storytelling there is no healing, ‘ validating why it is important to listen to the stories our bodies tell us. Read this book to heal in your own way. To be angry. To share. To accept. To celebrate and to love your body unconditionally amongst the continuous grief it brings.” —Akilah Cadet, MPH, author ofWhite Supremacy Is All Around

“Beautifully written and unapologetically honest,This Is Body Griefnot only dismantles the false narrative that our bodies are against us, but offers a compassionate path through the messy landscape of grief turned inwards. This book is for anyone who’s ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin and wants to reclaim their sense of self.” —Ciera Rogers, founder of Babes and author ofThe Outsider Advantage