Speaking Up

Katie Edwards was raised in Mexborough, a deprived former mining town in South Yorkshire. She spent her childhood trying desperately to fit in, to be the perfect daughter - quiet, compliant and conventional. But a lifetime of fighting to make her voice heard has taught her that working-class women are ignored by systems that prioritise those who are male and privileged. If we don't speak for ourselves, she has learned, who will? Through Edwards' own experiences, Speaking Up casts a light on how girls' voices are marginalised while their bodies are sexualised. Both a memoir and a call to arms, Speaking Up is the story of how our voices get lost - and how we can bring them back.