Image

My Body, My Book Club

BODILY AUTONOMY: UNITING THROUGH BOOKS

Find out our next read
In collaboration with The Vavengers
the vavengers logo

NEXT EVENTs

In Person

"The Vagina Business"
with Marina Gerner

9th of October 2025

6:30 pm to 8:00 pm (UK Time)
(doors open at 6pm)

The Vavengers HQ
(59-60 Cornhill House, First Floor, London, EC3V 3PD)

Limited places available

Minimum Donation: £5

(all proceeds go to The Vavengers)

Book your place now

Online

"Normalize It"
with Jessica Zucker

6th of November 2025

6:30 pm to 7:30 pm (UK Time)

Limited places available

Minimum Donation: £3

(all proceeds go to The Vavengers)

Book your place now

Next book

The Vagina Business by Marina Gerner

Image
This tech could change everything for women - here's how.

From periods and childbirth to menopause, female pain has been normalized, as society shrugs and says 'welcome to being a woman' instead of coming up with better solutions. But it doesn't have to be this way. In The Vagina Business, award-winning journalist Marina Gerner takes an eye-opening look at the innovators challenging the status quo to deliver the healthcare solutions women need.

With interviews from 100 entrepreneurs, researchers and investors across 15 countries, The Vagina Business explores the future of women's health, where female-focused companies are developing products to help women at every stage of life. From a life-saving bra to non-hormonal contraception and new takes on fertility and menopause, it shines a light on innovation that matters. Women should not be denied solutions to health issues just because people are embarrassed to talk about vaginas. We deserve much better.

We encourage everyone to borrow books from their local library, but if you plan on buying a copy, you can find it here.

    Image

    In October we are featuring The Vavengers, who are dedicated to raising awareness of female genital mutilation and providing support, advocacy, and education for those impacted.

    About our Guest

    Image
    Marina Gerner is an award-winning financial journalist and columnist. Her work has been published in the Economist, Wall Street Journal, the Times, Financial Times, the Guardian, and Wired.She is an adjunct professor at the NYU Stern School of Business and has a PhD from the London School of Economics. Her ideas and research for this book have been awarded grants from the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Society of Authors. She was born in Kyiv, has lived in Frankfurt and New York, and is based in London.
    Image
    The Vavengers is a UK-based organisation focused on ending female genital mutilation (FGM) through community engagement, survivor-led advocacy, and education. Working closely with grassroots groups and professional networks, The Vavengers raise awareness, push for systemic change, and offer resources that prioritise the voices of survivors. Their emphasis on centring lived experience ensures campaigns and support services are informed, inclusive, and responsive, helping to build a society where women and girls are protected, empowered, and heard.

    Normalize It by Jessica Zucker

    Image

    It's time to start speaking up about the all-too-common, but under-acknowledged, taboos women navigate throughout their lives.

    In her critically acclaimed, groundbreaking book I Had a Miscarriage, Jessica Zucker boldly exposed the silence, stigma, and shame that surround pregnancy loss and demonstrated the need to normalize conversations around painful reproductive events that too often go unspoken.

    In Normalize It, Zucker expands her lens to address a multitude of challenges women face--including girlhood, body image, motherhood, reproductive choice, sexual trauma, menopause, and more--that so often incite shame and overwhelming cultural pressure to stay silent. Based on patient stories, coupled with cutting-edge psychological research, Zucker fearlessly shares her insights into the shame and stigma that shroud so many women's experiences and explores the liberation that can follow when we get vulnerable and talk about the hard stuff.

    Normalize It is a nuanced look at what it means to be a woman that will make readers feel seen, heard, and empowered to tell their stories. By normalizing talking about difficult things, Zucker opens the door to creating cultural change that acknowledges and supports women's truths.

    Image

    In November we are featuring The Vavengers, who are dedicated to raising awareness of female genital mutilation and providing support, advocacy, and education for those impacted.

    About our Guest

    Image
    Jessica Zucker is a Los Angeles-based psychologist specializing in reproductive health and the author of the award-winning book I HAD A MISCARRIAGE: A Memoir, a MovementJessica is the creator of the viral #IHadaMiscarriage campaign. Her writing has appeared in The New York TimesThe Washington PostNew York MagazineVogue, and Harvard Business Review, among others. She’s been featured on NPR, CNN, The Today Show, and Good Morning America and earned advanced degrees from New York University and Harvard University. Her second book, NORMALIZE IT: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women's Lives, is out now and available everywhere books are sold.
    Image
    The Vavengers is a UK-based organisation focused on ending female genital mutilation (FGM) through community engagement, survivor-led advocacy, and education. Working closely with grassroots groups and professional networks, The Vavengers raise awareness, push for systemic change, and offer resources that prioritise the voices of survivors. Their emphasis on centring lived experience ensures campaigns and support services are informed, inclusive, and responsive, helping to build a society where women and girls are protected, empowered, and heard.

    Upcoming books

    Image

    The Lions' Den

    by Iris Mwanza

    Dec 4th 2025

    With Iris Mwanza

    Sign Up

      Previous books

      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Image
      Trans-Crip-T Cover
      Image
      The Island of Missing Trees book cover
      alice walker possessing the secret of joy cover
      Image
      woman of the ashes book cover
      Nevada book cover
      Beloved book cover
      Larger Than an Orange Book Cover
      Eleven Hours cover
      Image
      Image
      The Lonely Londoners Book Cover
      Image
        Image

        About the Book Club

        My Body, My Book Club aims to connect people and create communities. We read fiction books (with the odd memoir here and there too) that deal with different aspects of how we understand bodily autonomy and exemplify how we can get involved and support each other.

        Issues such as gender-based violence, racism, homelessness, displacement, abortion, obstetric violence, and the rights of marginalised communities, like the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ groups, are just some of the topics we cover.

        All opinions expressed during book club meetings are those of individuals and do not necessarily reflect those of My Body, My Book Club or the charities it supports.

        How it Works

        We know this is heavy stuff, but the book club hopes to foster empathy as well as raise awareness and question established narratives. Our main goal is to connect communities. So, for each session, we partner with a charity working with the subject we will be reading about in the novel, and we invite an expert on the topic to join our chat. (Also, all proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to the month’s charity.)

        Too Busy to Read the Book?

        We understand that people are busy and life happens – so please do join us even if you don’t manage to finish the book in time. We will also always provide other ways in which you can get involved and learn more about the subject in the "Next Book" section, whether it’s through a video or a blog post.

        About the Host

        julia martins profile picture

        Dr Julia Martins is a historian of the body, an activist, and an unapologetic bookworm. She is an Activism Outreach Supporter with The Vavengers, a member of the Charity Committee of the FGM Education Project, and an editor at the Feminist Perspectives Collective.

        She writes about gender history and history of medicine, and how history can inform contemporary feminism.

        You can check out her YouTube channel Living History and her website, and follow her on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram.

        My Body, My Book Club was launched as part of her involvement in the Abortion Rights UK Activist Bootcamp.

        Image

        Stay in touch

        Contact

        Any questions or suggestions, feel free to email us at:

        contact@mybodymybookclub.com

        or find us on Instagram:

        @mybodymybookclub