In a searching and powerful debut memoir, award-winning poet and literary translator Ani Gjika tells a different kind of origin story by writing about the ways a woman listens to her own body, intuition, and desire. Ani Gjika was born in Albania and came of age just after the fall of Communism, a time when everyone had a secret to keep and young women were afraid to walk down the street alone. When her family immigrates to America, Gjika finds herself far from the grandmother who helped raise her, grappling with a new language, and isolated from aging parents who are trying in their own ways to survive. When she meets a young man whose mind leans toward writing, as hers does, Ani falls in love―at least, she thinks it’s love. Set across Albania, Thailand, India, and the U.S., An Unruled Body is a young woman’s journey to selfhood through the lenses of language, sexuality, and identity, and how she learns to find freedom of expression on her own terms. “ An Unruled Body paints a new portal of entry into the role of the nation in the multiple layers of our experiences with consent and sensuality. Ani Gjika makes us remember that these pages, and this memoir, are made for feeling our way through the chaos while making memories of pleasure and resistance.” ―Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir “ An Unruled Body compellingly draws readers along Gjika’s journey toward sexual freedom, and the experience is breathtaking. At times meditative, and at times cinematic, Gjika writes about the intricacies of patriarchy, trauma, and sex with unflinching clarity and nuance, and an embodied sense of suspense that will keep your heart pounding.” ―Jonathan Escoffery, author of If I Survive You “Ani Gjika has written a searing reminder that history lives in the body and a love letter to the power of language to restore us to ourselves. Beautiful, impactful, and deeply moving, An Unruled Body resonates far beyond its pages.” ―Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body "Readers will be impressed by the author’s bold willingness to face the horrors of her childhood as she artfully blends an insightful look at her native country’s societal issues with her own family’s immigration story and her ongoing journey to sexual health. A poignant literary and personal achievement." ― Booklist starred review “The author’s poetic prowess is clearly reflected in this text’s lyrical, clean lines, as well as in her compassionate but critical analysis of every character of the story, including herself . . . . this is a gorgeously written look at a difficult topic.” ― Kirkus Reviews “Throughout An Unruled Body , language serves as rich soil from which to grow. It is, in part, a story of sexual awakening: Gjika narrates her marriage, her fears, her experience with a sex counselor, and her own experiments and explorations with her body. And more, it's about what it is to say instead of not, to put to words what is most difficult to express. ‘How do I construct a story out of silence?’ she asks. The book is an answer, and one that reminds us that vulnerability is one of the highest forms of strength. Gjika, with warmth, candor, poetry, passion, and poise, shows her growing fluency with the language the body speaks, and how to listen to what it says.” ― Nina MacLaughlin, The Boston Globe “This lush, gorgeous, and sexy memoir is about desire hidden and finally claimed. As this brave, astonishingly talented writer and award-winning translator moves across far-flung countries and cultures, she also listens to the language of the entire world, making a home on the page―where she translates herself.” ―Aviya Kushner, author of The Grammar of God “An Albanian-born poet and translator, Ani Gjika has a voice that is precise, surprising, and wholly her own. Her writing made me think more deeply about how to live in the world and how to be more awake to sensations from without and from within. This book is a gift and a delight.” ―Alysia Abbott, author of Fairyland "In this lyrical and intimate memoir, Ani Gjika reflects on her Albanian upbringing, her family’s immigration to the U.S. and her exploration of autonomy, identity, sexuality and selfhood. Bridging taboo and truth, patriarchy and power, this is a singular and powerful journey." ― Karla J. Strand, Ms. Magazine “Gjika’s memoir is a reminder that translation―of trauma, the body, sex, and grief―is not always easy but vital.” ― Kathryn Savage, World Literature Today "A testament to the power of writing to cope with trauma and pain." ― Eric Liebetrau, "5 Big Nonfiction Books From Small Presses," Kirkus Reviews “Although this is a memoir, An Unruled Body almost reads like it's a part Proust novel, part Szymborska / Lleshanaku / Lorca poetry collection. Immersive, imagistic and attentive to the lived life in and out of the body. Gjika investigates what can and can't be contained (in the girl, in the woman, in memory, in language, in love, sex and heartbreak