Ali Isaac in Conversation with Clare Fisher about Imperfect Bodies

When Ali learns that she is expecting a child with CFC syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the heart, face, skin, and development, her world is shaken up. Doctors tell her that her baby will not even survive pregnancy but, against all odds, Carys is born. In this powerful literary memoir, Ali shares her journey as the mother of Carys, reflecting on motherhood, identity, the female body, and the able and dis-abled body, while exploring social and political definitions of normality.

Through lyrical prose and piercing insight, Ali Isaac interrogates how pregnancy, ageing, and disability are all appropriated by public discourses without addressing individual needs. Isaac brings forth a myriad of non-normative bodies in a beautiful narrative that feels powerful and liberating. 

A deeply moving and thought-provoking memoir that will resonate with readers of Claire Kilroy, Anne Enright, and Deborah Levy, Imperfect Bodies celebrates resilience and redefines what it means to live - and love - within a body that defies expectation.

"So beautifully written, such an honest and raw account, a scrupulous interrogation of perceptions and attitudes towards disability in the modern world." Sara Baume