Today marks the publication day of Am I Ugly? (Head of Zeus), the inspiring and honest memoir by award-winning body positive activist Michelle Elman.

Exploring the interplay between beauty, health and confidence, and liberating readers from the pressures in society to attain ‘perfection’, Michelle’s book is a result of her compulsion to confront her body confidence after enduring fifteen major surgeries in the space of 20 years, which left her scarred both physically and emotionally.

Dissatisfied with the lack of representation for people with scars, Michelle launched her own campaign using the hashtag #scarrednotscared in 2015, which went viral, and resulted in her story being featured in over 60 publications. Her body positive campaign has amassed over 180,000 followers on Instagram via the channels @scarrednotscared and @BodyPositiveMemes.

An established voice in the Bo-Po (Body Positivity) community, Michelle is a five board accredited body confidence coach and her Tedx talk has been viewed more than 32,000 times on Youtube.

Am I Ugly? follows Michelle’s empowering journey as she overcomes illness and learns to embrace her scars, and in so doing, she helps us recognise that all bodies have equal value.

This summer Michelle will be hosting a series of events for Am I Ugly? in London and Reading.

 

Praise for Michelle Elman:

‘Michelle Elman is Bo-Po personified. She shows that we should never hide the things that make us who we are’ Curvy Kate.

‘A 21-year-old life coach in London has become an Instagram star and viral inspiration after sharing her bikini photos and an inspiring video’ Fox News.

‘Michelle’s post has certainly made an impact on so many people who needed a pick-me-up, and we just hope that anyone else feeling insecure due to clothes sizes somehow find themselves scrolling onto her post, too’ Metro.

Congratulations Michelle – you are a true inspiration!