Emily Ratajkowski is writing a book of essays on body image in isolation and we’re here for it

Here’s everything you need to know…

(Image credit: Charley Gallay)

Here’s everything you need to know…

Emily Ratajkowski is one of the most talked-about women in the world, never afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believes in.

It comes as a surprise to no-one therefore that the model has been spending her time in quarantine well, reading and writing non-stop.

Opening up about being productive in self-isolation, Emily explained in an interview with British GQ that she has been passing the time writing a book of essays.

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‘I have probably ten [essays],’ Emily explained in the interview. ‘But I’m trying to perfect them - that’s one of the main things I’ve been doing [in isolation],’ going on to cite writing as ‘the one benefit of corona that’s been interesting.’

She continued: ‘I had planned to take until mid-April to edit these essays. I have 160 pages, all in draft. I have an agent and I’m going through his one sheet of notes. All I needed was no distractions and I promised myself I was going to tell everyone to just leave me to work and get them done. Now look.

‘I’d say it’s like a memoir, but with added political thinking. I’m trying to use my experience as a model and someone who has capitalised on their image and also someone who has been maybe a victim of their image. It’s complicated. I am looking at all that through a feminist perspective and just trying to decipher some of the answers. I don’t have them all yet; maybe I never will.

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‘The best writing I do is as I’m falling asleep,’ Emily explained of her writing process. ‘I take notes on my phone and I will write down anecdotes on a topic. I’ll just write them as they come; a flow of consciousness. And then usually I will look at them the next morning and, hopefully, some of it will make sense. Then I do a lot of really bad writing, where I basically fill out each of those sentences I took down as notes and hate myself. I’ll be like, “Oh, this is terrible! What are you doing with your life?” But I will get to a rough draft. The next day I go back and read through and realise some of it isn’t actually too bad. I’ll line edit, rebuild paragraphs and reorder the structure. It’s a constant beating - exhausting and totally unrewarding, but I love it. Now, with my book due, I feel a lot more pressure to write well than, say, if I was doing a blog or an assignment for class.’

We cannot wait to read this book.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.