Waterstones Cork and the Creative Writing Programme in UCC present Ali Isaac, author of Imperfect Bodies, in conversation with Dr Rosa Rogers.
When Ali learns that she is expecting a child with CFC syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the heart, face, skin, and development, her world is shaken up. Doctors tell her that her baby will not even survive pregnancy but, against all odds, Carys is born. In this powerful literary memoir, Ali shares her journey as the mother of Carys, reflecting on motherhood, identity, the female body, and the able and dis-abled body, while exploring social and political definitions of normality. This memoir also interrogates how pregnancy, aging, and disability are all appropriated by public discourses without addressing individual needs. Isaac brings forth a myriad of non-normative bodies in a beautiful narrative that feels powerful and liberating.
Ali Isaac lives in Ireland with her husband, two sons, and daughter. Her writing has been published in The Stinging Fly, Sonder, Paper Lanterns, and Catatonic Daughters. Ali was selected for the Penguin Write Now Program 2020. She was awarded a mentorship with author Sara Baume from Words Ireland and The Arts Council of Ireland. She was also the recipient of a Literature Bursary Award from The Arts Council of Ireland.
Dr Rosa Rogers is an Anglo-Irish writer and inter-disciplinary artist originally from Yorkshire. She holds a PhD in The Contemporary Novel and, before joining UCC taught creative writing and immersive fiction in universties in London, Canterbury, Paris and Nantes.