Description

Book Synopsis

Part manifesto, part how-to, Eat Sweat Play is a hugely inspirational call to arms for women to take back sport for themselves.

Long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.

Sport's for everyone . . . isn't it?

Society has led us to believe that women and sport don’t mix. But why? What happens to the young girls who dare to climb trees and cartwheel across playgrounds?

In her exploration of major taboos, from sex to the gender pay gap, sports journalist Anna Kessel discovers how sport and exercise should play an integral role in every sphere of our modern lives.

Covering a fascinating range of women, from Sporty Spice to mums who box and breastfeed, Eat Sweat Play reveals how women are finally reclaiming sport, and by extension their own bodies, for themselves – and how you can too.

'Anna Kessel's book should inspire a whole generation of women. It ought to be on the school curriculum.' - Hadley Freeman

'I’d go as far to say that this book was a life changer for my health and fitness.' - Estée Lalonde



Trade Review
Anna Kessel's book should inspire a whole generation of women. It ought to be on the school curriculum. -- Hadley Freeman
Fascinating, compelling and thought-provoking -- Lauren Laverne * The Pool *
This book is a plea to reclaim tracks, pitches and pools for women, and to ensure that the next generation grows up appreciating - and enjoying - all that their bodies are capable of. -- Emma John * The Guardian *
A piercing call to arms, [Anna] argues that if women and girls embrace being active, it will lead to a sea change for women's bodies, self-image and outlook. It is brilliant. * Stylist *
I’d go as far to say that this book was a life changer for my health and fitness. -- Estée Lalonde
This is an impassioned manifesto for why sport can change your life * Health & Fitness *
No topic is off limits - cringe worthy school PE, the gender pay gap, parenthood, women as fans, menopause, disability and even her own miscarriage are explored, telling a cradle-to-grave story of our vexed relationship with moving our own bodies. She also lays bare the systemic issues: sports science, for example, is based overwhelmingly on studies of male bodies, as if pregnancy and menstruation simply did not exist. This is a book for parents, sports lovers, and anyone who wants to be on the right side of history. -- Moya Dodd * Australia Financial Review *

Table of Contents
Introduction - i: Introduction Chapter - 1: How to bunk a PE lesson: a rough guide Chapter - 2: Sweating is so hot right now! Why our twenty-first-century obsession with exercise is all wrong Chapter - 3: Why sport will make you sucessful Chapter - 4: Sports and taboos Chapter - 5: How to avoid the pregnant pause Chapter - 6: The marathon of motherhood Chapter - 7: 'Are you the tea lady?' and other common questions Chapter - 8: What does a woman's voice in sport sound like? (And when can we stop pretending to be blokes?) Chapter - 9: Women's sport: changing the game Section - ii: Epilogue Acknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements Acknowledgements - iv: Permission Acknowledgements Section - v: Notes

Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Our Lives

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 20 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Anna Kessel

    1 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Our Lives by Anna Kessel

      Publisher: Pan Macmillan
      Publication Date: 13/07/2017
      ISBN13: 9781509808106, 978-1509808106
      ISBN10: 1509808108

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Part manifesto, part how-to, Eat Sweat Play is a hugely inspirational call to arms for women to take back sport for themselves.

      Long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.

      Sport's for everyone . . . isn't it?

      Society has led us to believe that women and sport don’t mix. But why? What happens to the young girls who dare to climb trees and cartwheel across playgrounds?

      In her exploration of major taboos, from sex to the gender pay gap, sports journalist Anna Kessel discovers how sport and exercise should play an integral role in every sphere of our modern lives.

      Covering a fascinating range of women, from Sporty Spice to mums who box and breastfeed, Eat Sweat Play reveals how women are finally reclaiming sport, and by extension their own bodies, for themselves – and how you can too.

      'Anna Kessel's book should inspire a whole generation of women. It ought to be on the school curriculum.' - Hadley Freeman

      'I’d go as far to say that this book was a life changer for my health and fitness.' - Estée Lalonde



      Trade Review
      Anna Kessel's book should inspire a whole generation of women. It ought to be on the school curriculum. -- Hadley Freeman
      Fascinating, compelling and thought-provoking -- Lauren Laverne * The Pool *
      This book is a plea to reclaim tracks, pitches and pools for women, and to ensure that the next generation grows up appreciating - and enjoying - all that their bodies are capable of. -- Emma John * The Guardian *
      A piercing call to arms, [Anna] argues that if women and girls embrace being active, it will lead to a sea change for women's bodies, self-image and outlook. It is brilliant. * Stylist *
      I’d go as far to say that this book was a life changer for my health and fitness. -- Estée Lalonde
      This is an impassioned manifesto for why sport can change your life * Health & Fitness *
      No topic is off limits - cringe worthy school PE, the gender pay gap, parenthood, women as fans, menopause, disability and even her own miscarriage are explored, telling a cradle-to-grave story of our vexed relationship with moving our own bodies. She also lays bare the systemic issues: sports science, for example, is based overwhelmingly on studies of male bodies, as if pregnancy and menstruation simply did not exist. This is a book for parents, sports lovers, and anyone who wants to be on the right side of history. -- Moya Dodd * Australia Financial Review *

      Table of Contents
      Introduction - i: Introduction Chapter - 1: How to bunk a PE lesson: a rough guide Chapter - 2: Sweating is so hot right now! Why our twenty-first-century obsession with exercise is all wrong Chapter - 3: Why sport will make you sucessful Chapter - 4: Sports and taboos Chapter - 5: How to avoid the pregnant pause Chapter - 6: The marathon of motherhood Chapter - 7: 'Are you the tea lady?' and other common questions Chapter - 8: What does a woman's voice in sport sound like? (And when can we stop pretending to be blokes?) Chapter - 9: Women's sport: changing the game Section - ii: Epilogue Acknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements Acknowledgements - iv: Permission Acknowledgements Section - v: Notes

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