This Is My Body
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
“King-Miller’s finest work to date.”—New York Times
“This Is My Body is simply one of the finest works of familial horror I have ever encountered. This book is hideously satisfying.”—Sarah Gailey, author of Just Like Home
A gripping, emotional, and darkly funny queer horror novel about family trauma and possession, for fans of Rachel Harrison and Catriona Ward.
Gay single mom Brigid always thought that cutting ties with her extremist Catholic family was the best thing she could have done for her daughter, Dylan—and for herself. But when Dylan starts having terrifying fits of unnatural violence, Brigid can’t shake her memories of a girl from her childhood who behaved the same way . . . until Brigid’s uncle, Father Angus, performed an exorcism.
Convinced that her daughter is suffering from demonic possession, Brigid does the thing she told herself she’d never do: she goes home. Father Angus is the worst person she knows, but he’s also the only person who can help her daughter.
But as Brigid starts to uncover secrets about Father Angus, that long-ago exorcism, and her family’s past, she realizes that she and Dylan have never been in more danger.
This Is My Body is a piercing journey into religious trauma and childhood shame, building towards a heart-pounding twisty climax that will spin your head all the way around.
“The line between homage and pastiche is sharp and dangerous, but King-Miller walks it with grace in This Is My Body, a demonic possession story in the vein of The Exorcist.”—New York Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this surprising horror outing, King-Miller (The Z Word) takes on exorcism and possession with a modern perspective and unexpected results. As a child, Brigid witnessed her uncle Angus, a fanatical priest, and her mother, Adelaide, perform a home exorcism on a stranger. Now an adult and a lesbian, she's cut off her homophobic family entirely. However, memories of that childhood exorcism have followed her up until the present day, when she's a single mother struggling with her adolescent daughter Dylan's behavioral issues. Things take a darker turn when it becomes clear that Dylan's "issues" aren't simple teenage blues. Out of options, Brigid does the unthinkable and returns to her family home to face her uncle, save her daughter, and finally assert her identity as a queer woman. By turns exhilarating and disgusting, moving and monstrous, the novel posits self-acceptance as the ultimate antidote to darkness. Brigid is a standout among a cast that can fade into the background, and though the flurry of action can be chaotic, King-Miller's descriptions are cinematic and exciting. Fans of queer horror looking for a fresh take on a familiar trope will be hooked.
