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A Physical Education

How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting

Coming Soon
A Physical Education Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Casey Johnston

Formats and Prices

Price

$14.99

Price

$19.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $30.00 $40.00 CAD
  3. Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $27.99

Also available from:

Written by the creator of “She’s a Beast” newsletter, this mash up of memoir and science writing is the rare story of a woman finding joy in a body that, for so long, she considered her enemy.

A Physical Education traces Casey Johnston’s journey of calorie restriction and obsessive cardio—making herself small in almost every way—to finding healing through the (unexpected) practice of lifting weights. As she progresses, carrying groceries and closing heavy doors become easier. As she diligently practices checking in with how she feels, she begins to question not only how she has treated her body, but how she sees herself and the world. This growth also fuels a deeper understanding: how the mainstream messaging she received about women’s bodies has seeped into almost every other area of her life. 

Combining wit, rage, and a reporter’s eye for detail, Johnston recounts how she learned the process of rupture, rest, and repair—not just within her cells and muscles, but within her spirit.  A love letter to the science of female strength, this is a book for anyone who’s ever longed to return home to their own body.

Genre:

  • “A Physical Education is a profoundly engrossing journey of how one woman stepped into her power, literally and metaphorically. Casey Johnston is our Virgil through the weightroom, seamlessly blending memoir, history, and science. In lucid prose, Johnston shows how strength training is an exit ramp off the hamster wheel of diet culture and antidote to the shame and isolation so many women experience. Full of heart and humor, this book made me want to get stronger.” 
     
    Elizabeth Greenwood, author of Playing Dead and Love Lockdown

On Sale
May 6, 2025
Page Count
320 pages
Publisher
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13
9781538773277

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Casey Johnston

About the Author

Casey Johnston is an American writer, editor, and fitness influencer. She has written the fitness advice column “Ask a Swole Woman” since 2016 for The Hairpin, SELF, and VICE and a newsletter about weightlifting, She’s a Beast, since 2021.

Learn more about this author