Beneath the Skin: Love Letters to Body by Great Writers

Fifteen talented writers each explore a different body part in this funny and moving collection. Our bodies all have stories to tell - and who better to tell them than fifteen of the world's finest writers? Buried beneath layers of flesh, our hearts pump, our lungs inflate, our kidneys filter. These organs, and others, are essential to our survival but remain largely unknown to us. In Beneath the Skin, fifteen writers each explore a different body part: Naomi Alderman unravels the intestines and our obsession with food; Thomas Lynch celebrates the womb as a miracle; AL Kennedy explores the nose's striking ability to conjure memories; and Philip Kerr traces the remarkable history of brain surgery. The human stomach, we discover, contains as many brain cells as a cat has in its head. The lungs weigh about the same as a loaf of bread. A traumatic memory can show itself on the skin. Moving, comical and often unexpected, this is an awe-inspiring voyage through the mysterious landscape of our bodies. Based on the BBC Radio 3 series 'A Body of Essays'.

Our bodies all have stories to tell - and who better to tell them than fifteen of the world's finest writers? 'These essays lift back the skin to reveal something secret and precious, articulating private truths and distilling sensation into language ... this collection is a timely, triumphant celebration of our embodiment' - iNews Buried beneath layers of flesh, our hearts pump, our lungs inflate, our kidneys filter. These organs, and others, are essential to our survival but remain largely unknown to us. In Beneath the Skin, fifteen writers each explore a different body part: Naomi Alderman unravels the intestines and our obsession with food; Thomas Lynch celebrates the womb as a miracle; AL Kennedy explores the nose's striking ability to conjure memories; and Philip Kerr traces the remarkable history of brain surgery. Moving, intimate and often unexpected, this is an awe-inspiring voyage through the mysterious landscape of our bodies.