Thank you NetGalley and Brazos for an advanced copy of The Wisdom of Your Body.

Embodiment is a relatively new concept for me, having grown up in a faith tradition that emphatically teaches the body is bad. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I started reading, but as I read I could feel this book helping me change. There were times I could feel the stories and thoughts Hilary shared affecting my body, and that made it hard for me to read in those moments. But the permission is there to take your time. This is not a book to rush through, and certainly it will need to be read again as I can feel my body is still processing. I can see how I am already starting to think differently about the stress response in my body, how I view the role emotions play in giving me guidance, and, how my body is connected to spirituality.

The truths and concepts Hilary shares are incredibly important for anyone who feels the messages (feelings are bad, there is an ideal body, bodies are impure to name a few) we have been given about our bodies continue to cause harm to them. Bodies are good, sacred, and hold so much wisdom. Hilary shows us how we can return to that truth.

Drawing on her doctoral research and clinical work, McBride invites her reader to learn the deep value and embrace the vital practice of embodiment. She lays out, in terms that are easily understandable, how the impact that embodiment or the lack thereof has on all aspects of our health - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. She offers an enormous amount of compassion as she explains how our socio-cultural history has led so may of us (perhaps nearly all of us) to be disembodied, often without even realizing it. Each chapter concludes with "things to think about" and "things to try", inviting the reader to a posture of curiosity and experimentation, to listen to our bodies and learn what helps us to listen to them and settle into them. Overall, a very helpful book.