My Body, My Book Club

BODILY AUTONOMY: UNITING THROUGH BOOKS

In collaboration with The Vavengers

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.

Book Club Guidelines

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

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.

Next book

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman

In 1892 a furious Charlotte Perkins Gilman put pen to paper and created the avant-garde feminist work The Yellow Wallpaper as a warning – in this haunting Gothic tale, a woman is confined to a room and forbidden to do anything interesting – and she loses her mind.

In 1887, following a severe nervous breakdown, Gilman had been sent to a leading neurologist, she explains in ‘Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper’, also included in this volume. He was a ‘wise man’ who ‘put me to bed and applied the rest cure… and sent me home with solemn advice to “live as domestic a life as far as possible”… and “never to touch pen, brush or pencil again” as long as I lived. I went home and obeyed those directions for some three months, and came so near the borderline of utter mental ruin that I could see over.’
The Yellow Wallpaper is both a haunting illustration of the treatment of mental health and a chilling Gothic tale, and this new edition makes it ready to enchant another generation of readers.

The Yellow Wallpaper is in the Public Domain, so you can read it for free here!

We encourage everyone to borrow books from their local library, but if you plan on buying a copy, please do so through here.

In April, we're featuring Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP), a national charity supporting women and families affected by postpartum psychosis through peer support, education, and advocacy.

About our Guest

Georgia Poplett is a writer, editor and academic whose work bridges creative writing and the medical humanities. Currently completing her PhD at Durham University, Georgia specialises in representations of postpartum psychosis through Gothic literature, making her uniquely positioned to guide our exploration of "The Yellow Wallpaper." After completing her MFA at Birkbeck with distinction, Georgia's career has spanned bookselling at Waterstones and publishing at Profile Books. Her forthcoming novel, "She Herself is a Haunted House," weaves together themes of intergenerational trauma, maternal experience, and women's mental health with elements of Gothic storytelling.

Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) provides essential support to women and families affected by this severe but treatable maternal mental illness. Through their peer support network, information resources, and advocacy work, APP helps families navigate recovery, raises awareness, and improves care pathways. Their commitment to breaking stigma surrounding maternal mental health creates spaces where women's experiences are validated and understood.