Am I Ugly?: One Woman's Journey to Body Positivity

In today’s world of supplements, celebrity diets and social media, it’s very easy to be hard on ourselves about the way we look. With all this pressure to strive for ‘perfection’ aesthetically, it is easy to forget how damaging this can be psychologically. Michelle Elman is a leading part of the body positivity movement that has been gathering momentum to liberate people from these unrealistic standards, recognise that all bodies are equally valuable and broaden the billboard definitions of beauty.Am I Ugly? is this inspiring woman’s compelling and deeply personal memoir that describes her childhood experiences of life-threatening health problems, long stays in hospital and fifteen complex surgeries that left her scarred, both mentally and physically. The narrative follows Michelle’s journey from illness to health, and from childhood to adulthood as she deals with her body-confidence issues to embrace both her scars and her body – and help others to do the same. This remarkable book grapples with the wider implications of Michelle’s experiences and the complex interplay between beauty and illness. In todays world of supplements, celebrity diets and social media, its very easy to be hard on ourselves about the way we look. With all this pressure to strive for perfection aesthetically, it is easy to forget how damaging this can be psychologically. Michelle Elman is a leading part of the body positivity movement that has been gathering momentum to liberate people from these unrealistic standards, recognise that all bodies are equally valuable and broaden the billboard definitions of beauty. Am I Ugly? is this inspiring womans compelling and deeply personal memoir that describes her childhood experiences of life-threatening health problems, long stays in hospital and fifteen complex surgeries that left her scarred, both mentally and physically. The narrative follows Michelles journey from illness to health, and from childhood to adulthood as she deals with her body-confidence issues to embrace both her scars and her body and help others to do the same. This remarkable book grapples with the wider implications of Michelles experiences and the complex interplay between beauty and illness. "In July 2015, Michelle Elman posted a picture of herself on Instagram. She is wearing a bikini, but unlike so many of the bodies on Instagram, hers is not thin. And in the photo, you can see deep scars running across her stomach. At twenty-one years old, it was her first time wearing a bikini. The post went viral. It was shared by celebrities such as Zooey Deschanel and George Takei, and featured in over sixty publications including the Daily Mail, Independent, MTV, Cosmopolitan, People and Buzzfeed. It joined a passionate conversation all over the word: what is beauty? Who got to decide? Why don't we talk about scars? Am I Ugly? follows Michelle's journey through fifteen surgeries and body-confidence issues to embrace both her scars and her body. Her inspirational story takes us through childhood illnesses and the rough competitive background of school, to her arrival at university where her body insecurities were challenged again. It grapples with eating disorders, PTSD, and the complex interplay between beauty and illness." -- publisher