I wasn’t all too familiar about Emily Ratajkowski before I read this memoir. I of course knew that she was a famous model and that she had appeared in the controversial music video years ago called Blurred Lines. But I had neither followed her too closely nor had I watched the video. So I went into this book with a clear mind. And may I say that Emily is a fantastic writer. She makes you feel seen, her words slowly registering in your mind and even though you two are so different, you understand everything that she tries to say.

My Body is an intimate memoir of just that. Her perfect body is what got her into the fashion industry and as she dressed herself in bikinis and small dresses, she knew that the entire male audience was always watching her. They wanted to touch her, to grope at her, to leave their marks all over her. Being in fashion industry isn’t all too easy, even more so when a woman decides to do lingerie or sensual shoots. Emily knew she was what she was because of her body, it shot her towards fame, putting her name on the map. But what she didn’t know was how people and especially men would take free reins about how she wants to be treated.

Emily has a complicated relationship with her body. She appreciates her beauty, takes care of it but is also insecure in her skin. I couldn’t help but feel how women are always so guarded about their body. How our weights keep gaining and falling. In this collection of essays, Emily addresses a lot of important topics including male gaze, the ugly side of the glamorous business, about feeling free in one’s body. I’m sure that this book creates only two opinions. On the one side, you feel connected to her and nod your head at whatever she says . The other side argues about her being in a model business, cashing on her beauty yet talking about how she unsafe she feels in it. The feelings can be contradicting.

This book has a fantastic collection of essays, capturing her life from the time she was a child to now being a much sought after model. But more importantly, she proves her mettle as a writer.

I highly recommend this memoir.