Easy Beauty

By: Chloé Cooper Jones

Narrated by: Chloé Cooper Jones

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Memoir or Autobiography

A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 * Vulture’s #1 Memoir of 2022 * A Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA TODAY, Time, BuzzFeed, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

From Chloé Cooper Jones—Pulitzer Prize finalist, philosophy professor, Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant recipient—an “exquisite” (Oprah Daily) and groundbreaking memoir about disability, motherhood, and the search for a new way of seeing and being seen.

“I am in a bar in Brooklyn, listening to two men, my friends, discuss whether my life is worth living.”

So begins Chloé Cooper Jones’s bold, revealing account of moving through the world in a body that looks different than most. Jones learned early on to factor “pain calculations” into every plan, every situation. Born with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis which affects both her stature and gait, her pain is physical. But there is also the pain of being judged and pitied for her appearance, of being dismissed as “less than.” The way she has been seen—or not seen—has informed her lens on the world her entire life. She resisted this reality by excelling academically and retreating to “the neutral room in her mind” until it passed. But after unexpectedly becoming a mother (in violation of unspoken social taboos about the disabled body), something in her shifts, and Jones sets off on a journey across the globe, reclaiming the spaces she’d been denied, and denied herself.

From the bars and domestic spaces of her life in Brooklyn to sculpture gardens in Rome; from film festivals in Utah to a Beyoncé concert in Milan; from a tennis tournament in California to the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh, Jones weaves memory, observation, experience, and aesthetic philosophy to probe the myths underlying our standards of beauty and desirability and interrogates her own complicity in upholding those myths.

“Bold, honest, and superbly well-written” (Andre Aciman, author of Call Me By Your Name) Easy Beauty is the rare memoir that has the power to make you see the world, and your place in it, with new eyes.

©2022 Chloé Cooper Jones. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Author/narrator Chloé Cooper Jones dazzles listeners with a memoir that showcases her talent as an engaging writer and audio performer. A 2020 Pulitzer finalist for Feature Writing, she was born with sacral agenesis, a spinal condition that causes her physical pain, as well as mental and emotional pain from the constant judgment, pity, and prejudice of others. In this part-philosophical-memoir, part-travelogue, Jones offers a profoundly honest examination of society’s standards of beauty and desirability, and insightfully explores disability, parenthood, relationships, and more. Her frank tone, along with nuanced pauses and thoughtful emphases, brings her stories to life. Jones’s inspiring writing and powerful performance elicit thoughtful consideration of how we humans interact with one another." (AudioFile)

I have recommended this book to anyone in my life that reads

I loved Chloe’s perspective and her willingness to share her journey of self-growth. I had a lot of takeaways for myself and also felt better informed about both philosophy of beauty and the interplay with ableism. I have read some terrific books this year but this one was, by far, my favorite.

Absolutely the best memoir

I just finished this book and I have goosebumps. I listened to it over the course of 2 days. Chloe’s cadence is perfection. She weaves stories through one another in a way that kept me transfixed on this beautiful memoir. I have never read something that so fully captures the human experience as well as the experience of being a woman. I related so much to what she wrote. Her stories reveal her to be courageous and insightful, curious, present, and oh so funny (I laughed out loud many times during this book). I highly recommend this book in the audible version, and I am so happy the author read it. Thank you, Chloe, for this glorious read! -Kate in Minnesota

Pure honesty and imagery

The writing style of Chloe Cooper Jones is impeccable!!! Her ability to connect each moment with such poetic description really impacted me! As a person born with a congenital anomaly, I could relate so deeply to the conversations about my existence and if I should have been born… Thank you Chloe for your brilliance and beauty!!!

loved every minute of it

personal, raw, honest, exposed. beautifully unflinching. still full of wonder and unfolding. picturesque and vivid. I absolutely loved every minute of this book.

An unexpected story

I enjoy memoirs and have read many written by all kinds of people. This is the first one I’ve read by a philosopher and physically challenged person who is also a very good writer. I appreciated how she told her story interwoven with writings from philosophers and applied their thoughts to her life and experiences. She takes the listener into her confidence and reveals her true experiences and feelings about her body. I learned a lot from it. One thing that detracted just a bit is that in narrating conversations the voices were sometimes not distinct and I’d get confused about who was saying what. But it was a little thing in the overall scope of the reading.

Beautiful

This was insightful, inspiring, and beautiful. I want to listen again to hear all the nuance I’m sure I missed.

100% what I needed

Being disabled in this pandemic has been a time of community reckoning. I have never felt so held up and safe - despite living through a time that should be the most isolating and horrifying time of my life (yet!). The author’s internal journey is nothing like mine, but also entirely the same in essence. It was cathartic and deeply gratifying to listen to.

Transcending

A book I will revisit again. Passed along to my son and husband , the ultimate critiques because I know that they will both appreciate Chloe’s brilliance as I did. Chloe, your a gift!

This is a classic for the ages

Lives her words and thought, will be reading again and again. He pain and joy are a balm for my soul, so glad she narrated, it means so much. Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty.

Inspires introspection…

This is a great book for those of us without obvious physical handicaps, as it provides a glimpse of how hurtful ignorant remarks can be, and at the tail end of the book it offers enlightenment that some handicap isolation can be self-imposed. I think the highest value, however, is for young adults with disabilities. It gives voice (and therefore validation) to the struggles faced by persons with a handicap to live in a “normal” society. I think that this is a book that has the power to change lives on both sides of the coin.