Going in, I knew this book would be talking about sex. However, there was a level of vulgarity and crassness which felt unwarranted and rather cheap at times... Did not enjoy because of that. Could be the author's style, but since I don't know her as a comedian and if this is her style of narrative or not, I didn't know going in that was going to be the tone.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book if I'm honest but it was amazing. Witty - eye opening - important - but ultimately a taboo that should not be a taboo in this day and age. I'd recommend to all women and men to understand the complexities of sex and how it can impact women in multiple different ways.

This was such an eye opening and powerful read.
My heart goes out to the author for being so brave to talk about a subject which many (like myself) are completely uneducated in.
A truly insightful read

When I first started blogging, there is no way I would have dared read this book, let alone review it. To be fair, I also would not have dared read Fifty Shades of Grey (read it, it was boring). It took me to my final term at university to have confidence to point out sexual innuendo in books that I was studying. Basically, it's been a journey to untangle my inner Puritan. One of the things that I enjoyed about this book though was recognising it as a milestone in my own personal journey. I had primary vaginismus during my teens and a fair chunk of my twenties and I never really knew how to reach out for help. All these years later, it is genuinely a distant memory. Something I never could have imagined way back then. But I digress. In My Broken Vagina, writer and comedian Fran Bushe sets out to improve her relationship with her genitalia and decides to share her experiences along the way. The result is a witty and heart-felt memoir which I wish I could pass back in time fifteen years to my younger self.

This is a book for vagina-havers. And Bushe makes clear what a neglected bunch we have been. In the opening pages, she rolls her eyes at how when word got round that she was writing a book about sex, most of her former lovers got in touch assuming she must be writing about them. But this very much illustrates the whole problem. The penis assumes centre stage. In school, sex education centres around how one should not be having sex but if one did choose to be so foolish, one needed to be aware that sperm was powerful stuff and the dangers of pregnancy and disease. The only aspect of women's health that I remember studying was the diagram about a woman's menstrual cycle. Like Bushe and indeed most of our generation, I was not taught that vaginismus was a possibility. Which is strange because we were also never taught anything about making sex pleasurable. The vagina never gets a look in.

This may sound like a gripe. After all, should we really expect schools to teach young people how to have sex? But I really feel that it is a lack of vocabulary around the issue which leads to the mess of poor communication between partners, another aspect highlighted by Fran (she feels like a friend). If we had an education system that had enough courage in its convictions to tackle sexual intimacy with honesty, it would go a long way to equipping young people on how to approach sex with respect and realistic expectations. It sounds like a platitude to say that things got easier for me when I met the right person, but suddenly so many things were simple which had once seemed complicated. I have said this before but the best dating advice I would give anyone is to marry the man who texts you back promptly and in full sentences. It's a good sign he's a communicator.

It would be a lie to say that all of Fran's experiences matched my own. I was never a big dater and tended to have years at a time where I was contentedly single. One of the few upsides to having my fair share of autistic behaviours is that my reflex to sexual harassment was to respond bluntly in the negative. I also spent a lot of time hanging around with Christians which meant that I still had a few problematic relationships but they were of quite a different type. The situations that Fran describes of passively allowing her body to be used were not familiar to me. But one of the really positive aspects of Fran's memoir was that she did seek out other voices and other experiences, including those from an LGBTQIA+ perspective. Again, it is so important to capture experiences of sex that go beyond simply the heteronormative. The only aspect that I did wish Fran had covered more was around sex from a postpartum point of view. This is of interest to me because the topic of secondary vaginismus is one that I have encountered frequently in conversation with fellow mothers over the past few years. What advice could be given for women who have previously enjoyed sex but whose vaginas literally feel broken? These are also important voices that need to be heard.

I remember watching The Vagina Monologues while at university and at the end of the performance, a man in the row in front of us turned around and said, 'So ladies, do you just love your vaginas now? If I had one, I'd love it too'. One of the best things about My Broken Vagina is how Fran makes clear that one's relationship with one's body is not linear. So often memoirs end on an apparent positive note which somehow feels false so I appreciated the acknowledgement that this is an ongoing journey. Weirdly for me, my relationship with my body improved dramatically after having my first child. I looked at my son and felt amazed that my body had incubated, birthed and then fed such a miracle. It's been three years and the sense of awe has yet to fade. But it took me a long time to get here. Fran's conversations with the diary of her sixteen year-old self contrasted the abstract expectations we have about what sex will be with the practical reality. The medical profession may struggle to provide constructive advice, it may be an odyssey to find the contraception that works for you, but no matter what complications are in the way, you are not broken. And sexual intimacy with the person you love is something you deserve to feel good about.

My reflex when I requested this book to review was to read it, reflect and then never share my thoughts publicly. But I know that writers such as Fran Bushe are the kind of voices that I could have really done with hearing from back in my teenage years when I had no idea why my body was not behaving the way that society seemed to expect. I would have sobbed with gratitude to have someone tell me that I was not broken and so I wanted to explain why books like these are important. Witty, warm and approachable, My Broken Vagina tackles tricky topics with charm and candour. It is wonderful to see how conversations are starting which break the silence around women's health - I hope that this book will be but the first of many. And if Fran ever performs her stand-up show again post-pandemic, I would definitely be interested to go see it!

This book was something many women need to read, not for solutions but to feel some validation for their experiences and emotions. It’s hard not to feel broken or like you’re doing something wrong, but knowing that there are so many other women who go through similar experiences is helpful. The people who don’t have sexual experiences as the book describes, well this will give 5em empathy for how the women struggling feel.

This was a great read for woman and to be honest it was refreshing to read such an open and frank book regarding women's problems and to know it is normal. It has useful advice and is written in a non-intimidating way.

This was a humorous and open exploration about female sexuality. Thank you Fran for your honesty and being willing to talk about this problem, which I suspect effects more of us than we’d like to admit.

A funny and easy read that is considerate and mindful of the reader. I enjoyed the pace of the story line as we learnt more about Fran’s condition as she did. I liked that she was open to research and take control of her sex life. The light-hearted approach makes the book accessible to everyone who wants to have better sex. I would recommend this book to anyone whether they think they have sexual dysfunction or not.

Thank you to Fran Bushe, Hodder & Stoughton, and Netgalley for the ARC.

My Broken Vagina is an open, honest and utterly fantastic book about people with vaginas. Fran Bushe conveys her own experiences in an amusing way and, at the same time, interviews and shares the opinions of people from different genders and sexualities in order to provide a more complete and diverse picture of how people with vaginas understand and experience sex.

Her writing is as compelling as it is hilarious, communicating the message that everyone has issues in bed and no one truly knows what they’re doing, and that’s okay. In particular, she focuses on how people with vaginas find it difficult, if not impossible, to find help within the medical community when they have problems with their sexual relations or libido, yet there is a lot more research and even medication for people with penises. This is an important issue, because “the only thing that really causes distress is that feeling of not fitting in and not being able to see yourself represented anywhere,” she writes.

Bushe discusses pain during sex, desire, consent, masturbation, the concept of sex itself, how society is excessively focused on penetration and heteronormative relationships, and how finding what works best for you can be a messy, endless journey. And, obviously, talks a lot (and I mean A LOT) about vaginas in all their shapes and forms.

This is the book I wish my 16-year-old self had read. It would have saved her a lot of self-doubt and insecurity, helped her see that sex doesn’t have to be heteronormative and focused on male pleasure, helped her discover and ask for what she liked in bed and to learn to say no when something felt uncomfortable. This is an important story that, hopefully, will pave the way towards a more open conversation about sex both within society and with our sexual partners.

I encourage you to read this irrespective of your gonads, I think there is useful information and reflections for everyone of us here. If you’re looking for an authentic and funny story narrated in a sincere, no-bullshit way, you will love this one as much as I did.

My Broken Vagina is part-memoir, part-self help book, with a mix of anecdotal stories, facts and references to studies, and ways Fran has tried to ‘fix’ her ‘broken vagina’.
Its main theme is the way that Fran writes to de-stigmatise talking about vaginal health and female pleasure during sex and she writes in a really colloquial style which is so easy to read and genuinely funny (if occasionally a bit over the top), even when the topics are somewhat heavier, or might otherwise be awkward. What I loved was the way that Fran shares interviews and insights with other people with vaginas, of all sexualities, able-bodied and disabled, ages etc. It’s a great way for Fran to recognise the way that her experiences with her body and with het sex won’t be the same for everyone else, and is another way that the book challenges the normal definitions of sex and virginity. The book is still mostly one woman’s journey, and is a broad approach to cover a wide range of topics. It didn’t challenge me or introduce me to anything new, but it is a step towards open conversation, by education, Fran’s candor (she even shares verbatim extracts from her diary when she was 16) and the complete focus on personal growth and her relationship with her own body, not about the men she slept with.

I am so so grateful to have been given this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley, Fran Bushe and Hodder Studios.

This book is all about Fran’s journey with painful sex, with her vulva, with relationships, with masturbation, with all the things that make us sexual beings. And I am here for it!

As someone who has Vaginismus, it was so nice to read about another person who also has some difficulties with sex. Why are we so quick to talk about how sex is utterly amazing but not how messy and utterly limiting it can be?

I loved that Fran was so incredibly open about her experiences and related hugely to the thought of ‘am I broken?’... no, I am not and you never were either Fran, or anyone else who might think they are!

I particularly enjoyed the chapters on masturbation and the discussion around the definition of sex and virginity. Let’s get a few things clear, sex is not just penis-in-vagina! The ‘end goal’ of sex is not just to climax! Masturbating as a woman is not shameful, dirty or embarrassing!

Also! How had I spent 28 years of life not knowing that the vagina is different to the vulva? Vagina = internal. Vulva = external.

I wish my younger self could have had this book. I wish that young people especially, knew that sex should not be painful. I wish we as people with vulvas and vaginas were more confident to explore our likes/dislikes solo. I wish society would sack off the term ‘virginity’. I wish we could all talk more openly and freely about being sexual beings.

I HAVE A VAGINA AND I DESERVE TO ENJOY SEX (how cathartic!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 - I related to this book so much; a refreshing, empowering, hilarious, insightful read! I believe that every person with a vulva/vagina would get something beneficial out of this book. It has great LGBTQ+ representation too!

Due to be published 13th May... May is also International Masturbation month!

Too many women put up with unenjoyable sex due to pain, lack of energy, feelings of blame or not wanting to hurt their partner's feelings. This book covers the mental and physical sides of sexual problems.

Written in a humorous and totally honest way, with great care taken to include all identities, this book is going to appeal to so many women.

Have you ever read a book and wished it had been available to your younger self?

That's how I felt when I read this book.

I absolutely loved it. This book normalises sex as being painful and uncomfortable at times. It's definitely a problem that is more common than you would think and this book has done a great job and making me feel a bit more normal. The author was very honest but at the same time, keeping the tone light and funny. I absolutely devoured this book and think it may be the best book I have read so far this year.

I'll be pre-ordering a copy before its May release date and encouraging my friends to read it too.

This had me LOL so hard on many occasions. I genuinely want Fran to be my best friend. With diagrams galore, I found this thoroughly entertaining. There was something on nearly every page that made me want to take a photo and share it with all my friends. Not sure I'll look at goats in the same way ever again.
But at the heart of it is a very serious women's problem and she's absolutely right to share it and raise awareness and tackle (excuse the pun) head on. The message is not taken away from all the hilarious sections throughout. A brave and fresh insight in a 30 something women's life. So relatable. Read this.

Bottom line: the world's a funny place and people are weird. Many of us like to think of ourselves as intelligent, open-minded, civilized, sophisticated... and similar laudable attributes. And yet we scuttle around hiding our true selves and unable to voice the things that deeply worry us. Perplexed by our emotions and the physical reactions they so often engender.

Fran Bushe gives voice to some of those worries. She brings into the open the simple fact that many people have 'unmentionable' sexual issues that plague them. Through personal anecdotes, she shows that behind the façade, lots of people live lives that don't match up to expected patterns, especially when it comes to sex.

I read this because I'm interested in psychosomatic conditions. And the topic of this book, vaginismus, is one hell of a psychosomatic condition. 'Psychosomatic', of course, doesn't mean 'you're imagining it'. It means that it is a condition that is induced by or aggravated by thoughts and emotions.

Sometimes these thoughts and emotions are very obvious: anticipation causes that feeling of butterflies in your stomach, embarrassment makes you blush, anxiety makes your heart race. The sudden fear of a near-accident while driving shoots adrenaline into your system causing your fingers and toes to tingle or hurt.

However, many psychosomatic conditions are not so easy to pin down and interpret. Long-term back pain, migraine, psoriasis, and yes, vaginismus... just about any chronic health problem can have a psychosomatic component or be entirely psychosomatic. (If you're interested to learn more about psychosomatic conditions, check out works by Dr John E. Sarno, Howard Schubiner, Steven Ray Ozanich and David Schechter.)

Which brings me back to the book in question, My Broken Vagina. I love the fact that Bushe opens up about a taboo topic. We are mealy-mouthed about sex in general and most of us are afraid to even say the word 'vagina', never mind put it on a book cover with our name blazoned across it. Well done Fran!! Five stars for courage!!

Women, and men, find it difficult to talk about vaginas and vulvas - those hidden-away genital parts. Not like penises, that flop around or stand proudly looking for attention - and getting it. So it's a brave woman who stands up in public to talk about not just female genitals, but female genitals that AREN'T DOING THEIR JOB! Seriously, Bushe does a fine job in highlighting the anguish and shame that arise in people when sex is a problem. The trouble we have in admitting it, talking about it or seeking help for it. She is to be applauded for shining a light on the fact that so many people don't have 'great sex lives', whatever that means (we don't even know, we can only guess, because nobody does know what really goes on behind closed doors).

I give this book 5 stars for its bravery and openness. Unfortunately though, I then have to remove a star or two because it left me ultimately dissatisfied (yeah, yeah, I know!). Because the book doesn't really take us anywhere. It focuses nearly all its attention on the 'what' rather than the 'why'. While Bushe does mention that there is a strong psychosomatic component to vaginismus, she doesn't dig deep into the psychosomatic aspect of the condition and she doesn't address ways to overcome it from a psychological perspective. It's largely about the physical side of it, and her search for solutions largely focuses on physical solutions. I was surprised that the psychological aspects got such little attention. But then, psychosomatic illness is another great taboo topic that the world resolutely ignores or disparages, so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised;

The messages I take away from the book are, first, that if you have a problem with vaginismus or another sexual dysfunction, you are not alone - many people have problems that they hide. No shit, Sherlock. And secondly, it would help all of us if we could be more open about sex and bring sexual dysfunction out of the bedroom and into the public forum. Yay, bravo. No, seriously, bravo, and it's well worth reading just to drive these messages home.

But of course it's not the author's fault that this book fails to meet my expectation that it would be a deep exploration of a psychosomatic condition. That's what I hoped it would be, but in fairness it's not what it promised. Instead, it recounts - entertainingly - the author's search for more knowledge about sexual dysfunction and her various attempts to find a 'cure'.

And then I give back a star because even though the book doesn't, for me, go far enough, I enjoyed reading it. It's well written. It's engaging and funny. I don't know Fran but I like her. She's standing up and speaking out, and I like that. My bad for expecting a different book.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Fran perform live on a number of occasions including Ad Libido which is discussed in this book. The book carries the same level of gentle humour mixed with honesty and insight, a winning combination for a memoir. Fran details her experience with her body and sex from her early teen years until her thirties and everything in between, it includes conversations with friends, a trip to a Sex Camp and interviews with others about their experiences.

I am glad that these books are being published and that conversations around pleasure for all and the intricacies of the human body are coming to the forefront, it is so important and for that I think My Broken Vagina is perfect. I really hope this book helps people and keeps these conversations going.

I think this book would be brilliant in audiobook with Bushe narrating it herself, this would really add to the story telling and the authenticity of this work.

Fran Bushe is a woman on a mission to fix her sex life, starting with her broken vagina. Part memoir, part self help book, My Broken Vagina: One Woman's Quest to Fix Her Sex Life, and Yours delves into Fran’s sex life and that of others, breaking down common misconceptions, challenging the status quo and sharing a few helpful tips along the way.

After reading only a few pages of this book I knew I was going to love it. Fran is hilarious and so relatable. It’s a joy to work through each chapter with her as she navigates her quest of trying to ‘fix’ her ‘broken vagina’.

A lot of the experiences Fran shares over the course of the book struck a chord with me, and I’m sure they will with other readers, especially how medical professionals regard a women’s right to pleasure and how ‘sexual dysfunction’ in females is approached. The book also manages to be inclusive of everyone. Fran is sensitive to different sexualities and gender identities, which means no one is left behind on this journey.

You might think that a book which tackles such a sensitive subject might be a bit heavy or bogged down in science and details, but it’s not. Each chapter features a blend of stories, reflections and recollections, cute illustrations, entries from Fran’s teenage diary, statistics, self-care tips and interviews. In my opinion, it is probably best read in bite size chunks to have time to read around a certain topic or do some research, as different parts will resonate with different people.

Aside from all the comedy - and there is a huge amount of comedy gold in this book with lots of laugh out loud moments - there’s also a lot of uncomfortable truths and helpful advice to be discovered. Fran covers all manner of topics from getting comfortable with your body and masturbation to communication and consent. It is a no holds barred account of one woman’s journey to take responsibility for her own pleasure, challenge common misconceptions and fly the flag for women’s health. With that, there is an incredible sense of solidarity in this book. There’s a feeling that Fran has stumbled upon something that many of us have lived quietly with and we are now all having an ‘aha!’ moment of epic proportions. It is refreshing and (I hope) revolutionary.

In short, My Broken Vagina is a triumph of a book and I think everyone should read it. It is eye opening, sensitive, laugh out loud funny and informative all at the same time.

Thank you to Fran Bushe, Hodder & Stoughton, and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of My Broken Vagina in exchange for an honest review.

As a long-time sufferer of vaginismus, I jumped at the chance to read Fran Bushe’s My Broken Vagina. While I don’t know if any of the more practical advice in the book will be of use to me in the near future, I found a great deal of comfort and solidarity in reading it—and laughter too.

Like me, Bushe has struggled with vaginismus all her life. But she’s been a tad more proactive and bold in trying to overcome it. She’s spoken with medical practitioners, “Sex Camp” attendees, and many fellow sufferers. She provides a compelling explanation for why we shouldn’t buy into the label “Female Sexual Dysfunction” (apparently created by Americans to sell pointless drugs, WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT?). She sensitively navigates the semantic minefield of discussing how vaginismus makes her feel broken, while emphasising that we don’t have to feel broken.

The most painful parts of the book to read are Bushe’s experiences with doctors who dismiss her suffering, and with men who, when she tries to open up about vaginismus, respond with unkindness and defensiveness; they seem to interpret a woman’s inability to enjoy sex with them as blame.

Despite the many distressing moments in the book, there were so many times when I smiled or laughed out loud. Bushe is a comedian, and clearly a very good one (I wish I’d heard about her comedy gigs on this subject). The yoni egg chapter has to be my favourite bit. Ultimately, My Broken Vagina is not just for women with vaginismus, and indeed, I recommend it to anyone whether cishet or LGBTQIA+ (there’s a lot of representation among the people that Bushe interviews in the book). Although I’ve already read plenty of books that go over the usual statistics on women’s sexual pleasure and the massive orgasm gap between men and women, frankly, this is a subject that can’t be talked about enough. It makes me think of all the times that men I’ve been with have said the most ridiculous things about sex that simply are not true. I can only hope they know better now.

(With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an advance version of the ebook, in exchange for an honest review.)

My broken vagina was a very different type of read for me although I don’t really know what I was expecting from it to be honest!
Fran is very open, frank and honest detailing her strife and tribulations she experiences with her vagina! Informative, factual, funny and frank, hopefully this book will enlighten and educate anyone with a vagina!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.