Overview

Exploring the complexity of identity labels through memoir with warmth, insight and signature humour, considering how we might figure out who the hell we are in a world so eager to tell us. ""I have worn a lot of labels, by choice and otherwise. Here, I consider the ones I've picked up, rejected, lost, had stuck to my back like a 'kick me' poster in the schoolyard at lunch time, worn for a while and lost connection to. In its way, each one makes a discrete claim on who I am, as the labels you bear do for you. Each one is a means of translating who we are to the world and, when seen as the most important or truest element of who we are, shrinking and flattening us. Each one is part of our story, nothing more."" A thought-provoking exploration of identity, Some of Our Parts casts a philosophical eye over the labels that shape our lives, considering how they can both help us to communicate our values and how they have the potential to trap us. A memoir explored through a life in labels inherited, accrued and cast off, Some of Our Parts considers the pow er in reclaiming our own story and challenges readers to question how we define ourselves in a world that is so ready to decide for us. 'Wise, thoughtful and provocative ... An important book for our times' - Róisín Ingle 'Laura is an acute, intelligent and accurate observer and this book successfully combines psychology, philosophy and modern thinking in a fresh and vibrant way' - Brian O'Connell, journalist

Full Product Details

9781804186794

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Some of Our Parts is asking us to make an effort to think with curiosity and without having already decided on our conclusion. To make ourselves comfortable with what seem like contradictions. To showcase our unique identities regardless of how they might not 'fit', and this is excellent. At the moment every reaction seems knee-jerk, oppositional and emotional. But Some of Our Parts seems to ask us, politically and personally, to be more nuanced' -- Marian Keyes 'Laura Kennedy's wise, thoughtful and provocative memoir challenges us to consider the very modern rush to define ourselves using labels and identities. Do we really need them to tell the story of who we are? Are such rigid definitions useful or limiting? Might there be freedom in rejecting them? Kennedy explores all of this with warmth, humour and searing intelligence. An important book for our times' -- Roisin Ingle 'A fascinating dissection of the labels we apply to ourselves, and others apply to us, executed through the lens of Laura Kennedy's unique incisive mind' -- Liadán Hynes * author of How to Fall Apart * 'Women deserve better than to be soft-served self-help and personal development via crystals and any other number of intangible nonsense. Some of Our Parts cuts through the all the platitudinous garbage of understanding who you are, what you stand for and what you want from life in a way in a way that's accessible, real and achievable. If you want self-actualisation, Laura Kennedy has you covered' -- Emma Guns * the Emma Guns Show * 'I greatly enjoy writers whose work leaves me feeling loads more learned than I actually am. Kennedy is one of them and this intensely thoughtful and philosophical exploration into identity has left me feeling as though I should give myself an honorary doctorate. Brilliantly written, expertly presented and with her always-present touch of humour' -- Ruth Crilly * A Model Recommends * 'Laura Kennedy has the gift of bringing philosophy to life by applying those ""big questions"" to the everyday, familiar, shared experiences of being human. Some of Our Parts is a deeply intimate, thought-provoking, accessible (and often humorous) look at how we become who we are and thinks about how we can be more thoughtfully present in that process' -- Helen Pluckrose * author of Cynical Theories * 'Laura is an acute, intelligent and accurate observer and this book successfully combines psychology, philosophy and modern thinking in a fresh and vibrant way' -- Brian O'Connell * journalist * 'A sharp and distinctive book ... There are moments of warmth, humour and naked honesty, and the end product is wise, thoughtful and much more' * Psychologies Magazine *

'Some of Our Parts is asking us to make an effort to think with curiosity and without having already decided on our conclusion, to showcase our unique identities regardless of how they might not 'fit', and this is excellent' -- Marian Keyes 'In a world where everyone is starting to sound the same, I can recognise a Laura Kennedy essay at fifty paces. Sharp and deeply funny, Laura arms her readers to interrogate the world with greater wisdom and depth. She's that rare thing: a philosopher that you actually want at a dinner party' -- Caroline O'Donoghue 'Laura Kennedy's wise, thoughtful and provocative memoir challenges us to consider the very modern rush to define ourselves using labels and identities. Do we really need them to tell the story of who we are? Are such rigid definitions useful or limiting? Might there be freedom in rejecting them? Kennedy explores all of this with warmth, humour and searing intelligence. An important book for our times' -- Roisin Ingle 'A fascinating dissection of the labels we apply to ourselves, and others apply to us, executed through the lens of Laura Kennedy's unique incisive mind' -- Liadán Hynes * author of How to Fall Apart * 'Women deserve better than to be soft-served self-help and personal development via crystals and any other number of intangible nonsense. Some of Our Parts cuts through the all the platitudinous garbage of understanding who you are, what you stand for and what you want from life in a way in a way that's accessible, real and achievable. If you want self-actualisation, Laura Kennedy has you covered' -- Emma Guns * the Emma Guns Show * 'I greatly enjoy writers whose work leaves me feeling loads more learned than I actually am. Kennedy is one of them and this intensely thoughtful and philosophical exploration into identity has left me feeling as though I should give myself an honorary doctorate. Brilliantly written, expertly presented and with her always-present touch of humour' -- Ruth Crilly * A Model Recommends * 'Laura Kennedy has the gift of bringing philosophy to life by applying those ""big questions"" to the everyday, familiar, shared experiences of being human. Some of Our Parts is a deeply intimate, thought-provoking, accessible (and often humorous) look at how we become who we are and thinks about how we can be more thoughtfully present in that process' -- Helen Pluckrose * author of Cynical Theories * 'Laura is an acute, intelligent and accurate observer and this book successfully combines psychology, philosophy and modern thinking in a fresh and vibrant way' -- Brian O'Connell * journalist * 'A sharp and distinctive book ... There are moments of warmth, humour and naked honesty, and the end product is wise, thoughtful and much more' * Psychologies Magazine *

'Laura Kennedy's wise, thoughtful and provocative memoir challenges us to consider the very modern rush to define ourselves using labels and identities. Do we really need them to tell the story of who we are? Are such rigid definitions useful or limiting? Might there be freedom in rejecting them? Kennedy explores all of this with warmth, humour and searing intelligence. An important book for our times' -- Roisin Ingle 'A fascinating dissection of the labels we apply to ourselves, and others apply to us, executed through the lens of Laura Kennedy's unique incisive mind' -- Liadán Hynes * author of How to Fall Apart * 'Women deserve better than to be soft-served self-help and personal development via crystals and any other number of intangible nonsense. Some of Our Parts cuts through the all the platitudinous garbage of understanding who you are, what you stand for and what you want from life in a way in a way that's accessible, real and achievable. If you want self-actualisation, Laura Kennedy has you covered' -- Emma Guns * the Emma Guns Show * 'I greatly enjoy writers whose work leaves me feeling loads more learned than I actually am. Kennedy is one of them and this intensely thoughtful and philosophical exploration into identity has left me feeling as though I should give myself an honorary doctorate. Brilliantly written, expertly presented and with her always-present touch of humour' -- Ruth Crilly * A Model Recommends * 'Laura Kennedy has the gift of bringing philosophy to life by applying those ""big questions"" to the everyday, familiar, shared experiences of being human. Some of Our Parts is a deeply intimate, thought-provoking, accessible (and often humorous) look at how we become who we are and thinks about how we can be more thoughtfully present in that process' -- Helen Pluckrose * author of Cynical Theories * 'Laura is an acute, intelligent and accurate observer and this book successfully combines psychology, philosophy and modern thinking in a fresh and vibrant way' -- Brian O'Connell * journalist * 'A sharp and distinctive book ... There are moments of warmth, humour and naked honesty, and the end product is wise, thoughtful and much more' * Psychologies Magazine *

Author Information

Laura Kennedy is an Irish writer. She writes a weekly column on Substack called Peak Notions, a thought-provoking exploration of the questions we're not supposed to ask. She has a PhD in the philosophy of psychology and has contributed to titles including The Irish Times, The Sunday Times Style, Grazia and Vogue. Her writing spans culture, lifestyle and politics. In Some of Our Parts, Kennedy explores the complexity of identity labels through memoir with warmth, insight and signature humour, considering how we might figure out who the hell we are in a world so eager to tell us.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available