Life in the body is difficult enough. It’s even less pleasant in less than ideal bodies.

In Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement, Michelle Mary Lewica speaks of her own developing physical ailment and aging and the pitfalls and challenges which attend to life in the body on account of the cult of physical aesthetic and improvement in our society. The author has specific concerns as they relate to religion and its role in this matter.

The author considers matters of the body in general, disability, and aging. She incisively considers the modern societal discourse regarding each, and well identified a lot of the religious trappings which attend to the cult of bodily self-improvement, as if one can obtain the “salvation” of a healthy body through the right “rituals” of eating and exercise and the like. She does also address matters of Christianity and its involvement in these matters.

The author did well at looking at how Christianity can be misused, abused, and distorted toward ableism and such things. Yet also in her discourse we can find the possible end overreaction of disability theology in casting aspersions on the resurrection and what seems to be an attempt to “baptize” and justify the body in its current corruption. There are valid concerns regarding which such disability theology advocates are reacting - but as in all things life and theology, the temptation to over-reaction remains strong. It is wrong to associate the disabled with the corruption of the creation uniquely; such should not be a reason to baptize corruption, but confess its universality in the current creation.

But overall the author is not wrong in her analysis and description of the body, disability, and aging, our vain struggles against it, the shame associated with the body, aging, death, and how such has come about. We do well to resist the trends regarding which she speaks, re-normalize our limitations, and accept who we are and who others are as they are in this world, doing what we can to live well, but never delude ourselves into thinking we can somehow escape human limitation and corruption through our efforts.

It offers interesting views but is not actually compellingly written or offers any new insights or solutions to the "problems" it talks about which i think should be offered if a book is written as this one is.

I felt this book was a bit more of a conversation starter for discussion or general groups instead of an actual independent book to read on the topic.

The book looked interesting, but it wasnt quite what I was expecting. I ended up not finishing.

I was unable to read this arc. It didn’t download all the way, so I apologize for being unable to give it a fair rating.

Unable to review this book, although I was looking forward to it, because I couldn't open the file. format used.