A short, taut masterclass in poetic memoir. Beautifully universal about girlhood, sport, changing bodies, the borderlands of childhood play and adult expectation.” Max Porter.
When Rebecca Perry was growing up, she competed nationally and internationally as a trampolinist. This immersive and compelling book deftly blends memoir and lyrical nonfiction to explore a time she ‘chose air over earth’ and intensive schedules of practice. From the aerial views of English sports halls and international stadiums, to the texture of a fingernail pressed against silver beads on a leotard, Perry’s explorations are immersive, sensuous, funny, traumatic and tender. In ‘On Trampolining’, Perry weaves arresting tales on pain, expectation, flight and grief in relation to competitive sport, memory and the body.
