The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life

Jaouad reflects on how Western culture views the body as a “problem to solve” (143), offering endless solutions from supplements to accessories to achieve a certain ideal. She recounts her struggles with her changing body throughout the process of cancer treatment—losing weight (and then gaining a lot more), losing her hair, experiencing early menopause—and how she gradually came to terms with how, instead of hiding from her reality because it does not match an ideal, she needed to embrace and make her new body her own.

Jaouad also reflects on how dissociating from her body is a reflex she experienced plenty of times in the past, on occasion to her advantage as well, especially when she was experiencing physical pain. However, she acknowledges that in the long run this does more harm than good, and how encountering psychiatrist Phil Stutz’s work on bridging the gap between insight and action proved helpful for her. Instead of ignoring or being angry with her changing body, she began to seek out simple acts of care and pleasure to nurture it instead, for instance washing her face ritualistically each morning. Over time, she has come to accept, love, and feel confident in her body, and she hopes that the essays and prompts that follow will similarly encourage the reader to celebrate their corporeal forms.

“Embodied” by Ruthie Lindsey

Ruthie Lindsey reflects on how she has spent most of her life in a dissociated state from her body because of an accident that she had in high school that first left her needing intensive surgery, and then led to complications years later, both of which left her in serious pain for years. Over the years, Lindsey learned that one of the ways to soothe an overshot nervous system, whether because of physical pain or otherwise, was to take a few deep breaths. She invites the reader to do this, before writing about the experience.

“Curling Up Into a Ball” by Alain de Botton

Alain de Botton argues for the merits of allowing oneself to really cry when the impulse strikes, curling up into a ball the way one did in childhood. He asks the reader to reflect on and write about their relationship with crying.

“Body Love/Body Hate” by Natasha Yglesias

Natasha Yglesias reflects on how everyone she knows has a complicated relationship with their body, having been taught to hate or criticize some parts of it growing up. When she writes now, she creates characters body up, using their insecurities as inspiration for their personalities; this kind of awareness and consideration has allowed her to name and examine her own discomforts with her body. She invites the reader to perform a similar examination, writing about how their relationships with their bodies affect the way they live and relate to others.

“A Portrait of the Artist as a Right Foot” by Bianca Bosker

Bianca Bosker recalls a time when, frustrated in her writing process, she took a break to do other things, one activity being sketching her own right foot in great detail. She was amazed by how new her foot seemed to her when she examined it in this way. She asks the reader to similarly draw a portrait of their right foot, then write about it as if it were a character.

“Chairs” by Lisa Ann Cockrel

Lisa Ann Cockrel explains how, as a “very fat person” (159), she spends a lot of time thinking about chairs as she can never take for granted that she can fit on one. From having broken chairs in the past to simply not having one available for her body, she reflects on how the availability of a seat to a person reflects how welcome they are in a particular space. This is both literal and metaphorical, as most spaces are not designed with bodies like hers in mind. She invites the reader to write an ode to a chair they frequently use in their life.

“Tender and Strong” by Nell Diamond

Nell Diamond recalls how the hatred she felt for her body at age 13 morphed into trust and wonder when, at 30, she conceived, carried to term, and birthed her twins. She asks the reader to write about a time in their life when their relationship with their body similarly experienced a meaningful shift.

“Breathe Out” by Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl recalls a time when the 5-7-5 breathing technique saved her mother’s life after she accidentally choked on a piece of yarn that came loose from a sweater. The technique involves breathing in for five counts, breathing out for seven, and repeating the inhale again; Ruhl invites the reader to try it, then write a short haiku—which mirrors the 5-7-5 pattern—about whatever feels most present for them.

“More Than Sustenance” by Jenny Rosenstrach

Jenny Rosenstrach recalls when her husband got a phone call from the hospice his father was in, alerting them of his impending death. For the drive down to Virginia where the hospice was, Rosenstrach cooked and packed a shrimp dinner that had already been prepped. As she spoon-fed her husband the food while he drove, she reflected on how grateful she was for that meal and the part it was playing in taking care of her husband. She invites the reader to write about a time when food has similarly meant more than just sustenance.

“I Fall In Love” by David Sutton

David Sutton describes how he falls in love first with the man lying next to him in the recovery room of the hospital, then the man’s neurology nurse. Sutton is there recovering from the anesthesia for a medical procedure, one that offers a clean path of treatment forward for the condition he has, unlike his neighbor’s situation. He is grateful for this, and he invites the reader to write about the things they once took for granted which they no longer do.

“Ode to an Outcast Part” by Melissa Febos

Melissa Febos writes about how, over the course of her life, she has come to love her hands, the part of her body that she once hated because of how big they are, for all the things they are able to do. She invites the reader to reflect on their relationship with their hands, and how they may have used or abused them over the years.