{"product_id":"proud-flesh-catherine-simone-gray-9798889841265","title":"Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhat happens when survivors become mothers? \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As seen in Roxane Gay's The Audacity--a mother's memoir of healing trauma, finding pleasure, and redefining the joys of her body \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eProud Flesh\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is a gripping memoir--tender and fierce, incisive and whip-smart--that reckons with the questions \u003ci\u003ewhat happens when survivors become mothers?\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ewhat if we give half the attention to understanding our pleasure as we have to our pain?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy the time Catherine Simone Gray was expecting her first child, she was ready to get a 4.0 in motherhood: the best baby books, the months of parenting classes, the loving, supportive partner--\u003ci\u003emother cum laude\u003c\/i\u003e. But when she found herself struggling--to birth, to bond, to simply \u003ci\u003ebe\u003c\/i\u003e with her son--she came up against a long-buried truth: the sexual violence and emotional abuse perpetrated against her in an earlier relationship created a wound that hadn't really healed. It's the kind of wound that society--and the cultural annals of mainstream motherhood--don't prepare you for: the kind that makes itself known, on its own time, and demands to be seen before it can be tended. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eProud Flesh \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003echronicles how birth and postpartum helped heal Gray from trauma, thrive in her marriage, and find surprise in the joy of her body. Told in two parallel narratives, Gray weaves her postpartum healing journey with the story of her young womanhood, sharing the arc of an abusive relationship and the healthy love she built in its aftermath. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA memoir of trauma, survivorship, brightness, and pleasure, \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eProud Flesh\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is a testament that we can pursue pleasure alongside our pain, build trust in our relationships, and learn to embrace our eroticism--and that motherhood can be an aid, rather than a hurdle, to this transformation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Catherine Simone Gray\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798889841265\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e North Atlantic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/25\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs","brand":"Catherine Simone Gray","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46173278470399,"sku":"9798889841265","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c474c302-313a-42ab-a6e7-e35790d8eb87.jpg?v=1727180510","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/proud-flesh-catherine-simone-gray-9798889841265","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}