Eating too much, eating not enough, having sex, not having sex, aging parents, grief, drugs, childhood trauma, and the last call of ovaries - a woman's body at mid-life can get messy.

Debbie Bateman's stories take a clear-eyed look at the largely unexplored private world of a pivotal stage in virtually every woman's life. These stories are linked not only by the characters, but also by the visceral themes of food, sex, exercise, beauty, and aging. The secret clenching of a fist, the unwinding of a silk scarf, the proud refusal to have breast reconstruction, the women in these stories want full authority over their bodies and their lives.

Debbie Bateman is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University. Her short stories "Sundowning" and "The Art of the Scarf" appeared in You Look Good for Your Age (2021); "The Point of Failure" appeared in Qwerty (winter 2019); and "Secret Workings" was published in Phoebe (winter 2020). Now a post-menopausal woman, Debbie is too young to be told what she cannot do, and she's old enough to know that most of us are a beautiful mess. A proud mother of three sons, she lives in Quw'utsun (Cowichan) on Vancouver Island with her husband and soulmate.

Debbie Bateman's profile page

"The kind of writer who can make you laugh out loud, grit your teeth in anger and struggle not to shed tears, all in the same story." - Caroline Woodward, BC BookWorld

"Follows in the tradition of Margaret Laurence's unforgettable Hagar Shipley and Sharon Butala's older women protagonists. I was engaged and moved by Bateman's collection. The loosely linked structure of the stories draws readers into the world of the characters and explores them as multi-faceted human beings. I feel like I know these women, and I recognize aspects of myself in them. I'm on their side as they move into the fullness of themselves and their lives." - The Fiddlehead

"Debbie Bateman is wise enough to take the tropes of older womanhood and use them to fuel this excellent collection of linked short stories. This is a collection not only for women but for anyone who loves one." - The BC Review

"A wonderful, fierce, and above all intelligent collection that grows in power with each succeeding story." - Sharon Butala, author of Season of Fury and Wonder

"A hopeful and empathetic read, you'll find yourself cheering for each woman you meet." - Stella Harvey, author of Finding Callidora

"Debbie Bateman offers sharp sparks of dark humour, casually sinister moments in something as innocuous as a yoga class, and endings that veer from the expected in startling but utterly satisfying ways. Whether exploring menopause, anorexia, addiction, or a relationship to an increasingly senile mother, these stories are so deeply rooted in the body that they can't help but get under your skin. A formidable debut." - Barbara Joan Scott, author of The Taste of Hunger

"Your Body Was Made for This shines a light on an under-seen population: women navigating middle age. Bateman's stories honour these women with honesty, compassion, and hope, through characters who challenge the status quo, follow their desires, make mistakes, get back on their feet, and carry on." - Julie Paul, author of Meteorites