A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting

Written by the creator of the She's A Beast newsletter, this mash-up of memoir and science writing is the rare story of a woman finding joy in a body that, for so long, she considered her enemy. 

 A Physical Education traces Casey Johnston's journey from calorie restriction and obsessive cardio—making herself small in almost every way—to the (unexpected) healing she found through the practice of lifting weights. As she progresses with weight training, she finds simple things like carrying groceries and closing heavy doors become easier. But the changes aren't just physical. She begins to question how she has treated her body, and what it means about how she sees herself.  

Combining wit, rage, and a reporter's eye for detail Johnston embarks on a mission to figure out why so many of us spend our lives trying to "get healthy" in ways that actively make our bodies weaker. On her way, she offers up a scathing take-down of diet culture, dives deep into the science of building muscle, and describes how she learned the process of rupture, rest, and repair— not just within her cells and muscles, but also within her spirit. A love letter to female strength, this is a book for anyone who's ever longed to return home to their own body.