Soft Tissue Damage

Anna Whitwham

Summary

'An astounding book, moving between shadow and light with an honesty and self-awareness I found completely compelling. There is a power to being vulnerable, but also a power to fighting back.Whitwham does both these things with eloquence and fire.' —JESSIE BURTON

'Soft Tissue Damage places Whitwham firmly in the tradition of Joyce Carol Oates, Norman Mailer and other novelists who have evoked the blood and spit of the world's most brutal and beautiful sport.' —SAM PARKER, BRITISH GQ

'A compelling, visceral and tender book about grief and loss, life and death, identity and sexuality, written by a daughter, a mother and an aspiring fighter.' —DONALD McRAE

'This is prose that glints with truth.' —NIKITA LALWANI


Soft Tissue Damage tells the story of author ANNA WHITWHAM'S lifelong interest in boxing manifesting itself in the physical act of getting into the ring to fight. From her first tentative training sessions through bruising sparring and building up to a full-blooded fight, Whitwham charts the transformative impact the sport—and all its complicated implications—has on her during a profoundly difficult period dealing with the grief of losing her mother to cancer. Tender, insightful, honest and full of startling and original thought, this is a book that fully examines what the human body is both capable and incapable of, a book that examines what the human body truly means in its capacity for sexuality and violence, love and death, strength and vulnerability.

Available since: 03/27/2025.

Print length: 214 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Like a River - Finding the Faith...

Granger Smith

Read by the author with an audiobook-exclusive conversation between Granger and his wife, Amber!
New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, ECPA Bestseller
'Country music artist Smith debuts with a sensitive and moving recollection of his path through grief. . .In stark, intimate prose, the author candidly renders the realities of suffering while articulating a moving message of renewal. Those seeking a faith-based path through grief will find this instructive and affecting.' -- Publishers Weekly
Like a River, a triumphant story of new life birthed out of tragedy, will teach readers how to face their failures, confront their pain, and connect with God—the true source of life.
On June 4th, 2019, country music singer Granger Smith was enjoying a final evening with his kids before heading to Nashville for the CMT Music Awards and his next tour. While helping his daughter London with her gymnastics, his youngest son fell into their pool. Granger did everything he could to get to him, but he was too late. River drowned, and Granger's world shattered.
The days, weeks, and months that followed River's death sent Granger on a dark and painful journey. Every time he closed his eyes, he replayed the horrific event in his mind, and every time he opened his computer, he was bombarded by the critique and criticism of people who blamed him for the accident.
Despite his best effort to get back on stage with a smile and song, it was all a façade. On the inside he was dying. Fortunately, that's not how his story ended. And now he is compelled to help people all around the world find strength, peace, and hope on the other side of tragedy.Like a River, life is full of twists and turns.Like a River, people pollute our world with their critique and criticism.Like a River, tragic events keep us dammed up.But like a river, we can find the courage to keep moving downstream.
Rivers don't run on their own strength; they flow from their source. When we try to keep going on our own, we won't make it, but when we connect to the greater source, we will find the strength and the faith to keep living after loss. This triumphant story of new life birthed out of death will inspire every reader to live Like a River.
Additional water safety resources, discussion questions, and photo insert are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Show book

Adventureholic - Extraordinary...

Neil Laughton

More than fifty expeditions across all seven continents – by land, sea and air – have led adventurer Neil Laughton to some of the most remote places in the world. 
Adventureholic tells the stories of Neil’s most unforgettable and daring adventures yet. From summiting Mount Everest with Bear Grylls and playing cricket at the Geographic South Pole to piloting the world’s first road-legal flying car on a 10,000km journey across the Sahara Desert to Timbuktu, running with bulls, and train-surfing in Myanmar, Neil really has seen and done it all. 
Readers are invited to join Neil on a roller-coaster ride around the world, gaining the necessary insight, confidence and inspiration to add a little more adventure to their own lives.

Show book

Snowblind Friend - Tales From...

Douglas A. Walker

 The Recollector 
I am the watcher, the memory, a wanderer and a collector. You can't discern me, but I leave my footprint. Very young children and animals can detect me sometimes – their parents or owners catch a glimpse as a result. This is not a role anybody wants, no; ego has no place here. It needs to be removed before one can resume the process; an arduous task. 
I'm just a warrior, I'm not even sure what that means, I know that love and kindness are my tools, I guess you could say they are my weapons, but somehow that doesn't fit because I use them to heal rather than maim. It is an inner battle, but that reverberates outward. Most of it is just following orders, to go with the flow, understand what is being imparted and finding ways to soothe my restless spirit so it can become more, understand more, and become even more kind. That way I can be there for others when they need me. I have a feeling that I need to do everything I can to be at peace with myself. Kindness and love, kindness and love, that's how we fight this battle....Wildheart aka Snowblind Friend 
Catharsis 
[kəˈTHärsəs] 
NOUN 
The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. 
"music is a means of catharsis for them"

Show book

Top Girl

Danielle Marin

Gritty...shocking...trueTop Girl is the tell-all, true story of a grammar school girl turned county lines drug dealer.Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London, but her bright future fades as she turns her back on school for gang life and crime.Betrayed by the police after a brutal gang rape, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local ‘top boy’.However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat – and the authorities answer by taking away her baby.Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation, running drugs to satellite towns all over the UK from the gang’s London HQ.The Harrods shopping sprees, designer handbags and hedonistic lifestyle are the envy of her friends, but the good times and cash mask the grim realities of her life.A turning point comes when Danielle is arrested and – with the help of a probation officer – she begins to question whether she really is ‘top girl’ after all. But after five years deep in the high-earning street hustle, can she really leave it all behind?Danielle’s gritty, emotional, no-holds-barred memoir lays bare the reality of a county lines insider and reveals the truth about life on the frontline of Britain’s biggest drug threat for a generation.

Show book

Notes for the Children - A...

Patrick Priestner

“An example of how meaningful change begins—and where our path can lead if we are brave enough to keep asking why.”—Martin Luther King III, from the forewordIn an extraordinary gift to his children, one father shows how the power of mindfulness and self-compassion can help chart a path through life’s challenges toward solace and joy.A unique memoir that weaves together stories of personal triumph, love, loss, and lessons learned, Notes for the Children follows Patrick Priestner throughout his life as a son, a brother, a car salesman, an award-winning automotive entrepreneur—and his most rewarding roles, as a husband and a father. Through his engaging and inspiring storytelling, Priestner transports readers from the streets of his childhood neighborhoods to the bustling car dealership where he made his first sale. He reveals the challenges and joys of his relationships with family members and loved ones and how music and Buddhist philosophy helped him cope with the struggles that life threw his way with compassion and forgiveness. Notes for the Children is a testament to the power of making small changes in life in order to heal, inspire, and connect. Priestner’s inspiring words offer reflections on life and its many lessons and show how the threads of experience make up the tapestry of life.All proceeds of Notes for the Children will be donated to Well-being Canada for the life of the book. Please visit wellbeing-canada.ca/ for more information.

Show book

Scimitar into Stanley - One...

Roger Field

In May 1982, Captain Roger Field, The Blues and Royals, attached to HQ 5th Infantry Brigade, sailed on the Queen Elizabeth 2 as part of the second wave to liberate the Falkland Islands. Surprised by what he saw at Brigade HQ, he started writing a diary. 
His journey took him to Fitzroy as the Argentinean aircraft struck the landing ships Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram. A chance meeting led him to fighting alongside the Commanding Officer of 2 Para at the Battle of Wireless Ridge. When the commander of one of the four attached armoured cars of The Blues and Royals was knocked out part way through the battle, Roger took command of that Scimitar. Next day his Scimitar was at the very tip of the spear as 2 Para and The Blues and Royals led the victorious charge into Port Stanley. 
‘Revisionist’ in places and always refreshingly candid, this account is unique as it describes the War from the viewpoint of a staff officer, infanteer and armoured vehicle commander. A gripping listen.

Show book