unladylike: A grrls guide to wrestling
"Unladylike made me remember why I fell in love with wrestling in the first place." Mick Foley
Unladylike is the first book written about feminism and wrestling - it follows one unlikely woman's journey to becoming an infamous masked wrestler, and honestly retells the life lessons grappling teaches her on the way.
Most wrestling books are about the stars of the industry – this one isn't. Unladylike offers an honest and comedic insight in to the world of independent wrestling from the perspective of one angry, overweight woman following a dream she didn’t know she had. Unladylike is structured around the last five years of my wrestling journey, using it as a backdrop to explore both the hidden and overblown world of wrestling. It also talks about women's bodies; cabaret in Underground post-recession London; forming unlikely friendships; generational ennui; pushing boundaries and personal politics. It is written for both an existing and new wrestling audience in a way that hasn't been attempted before – sitting squarely within the narrative non-fiction genre with influences of both sport writing and feminist thought.
Receiving top-end reviews from readers both from the wrestling and non-wrestling community, Unladylike is a feminist romp like no other.
Unladylike press
BBC Breakfast
BBC Women's Hour
BBC Breakfast
On the 9th of August myself and homeslices' Pro Wrestling EVE sat on a sofa and I talked about how great wrestling was, and forgot to mention my book.
I Newspaper
BBC Women's Hour
BBC Breakfast
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'I went from working in a call centre to a wrestling superstar' including an extract from Unladylike.
BBC Women's Hour
BBC Women's Hour
SLAM Sports (USA)
I fulfil a life ambition by appearing on the flagship show and end up talking about breast feeding and how I almost broke someone's nose with my pubic bone.
SLAM Sports (USA)
SLAM Sports (USA)
SLAM Sports (USA)
Jamie Hemmings reviews my book and shares insights from our interview.
OZY (AU)
SLAM Sports (USA)
Slate (FR)
Scarlett Harris includes notes on Unladylike as part of a piece on feminism and wrestling.
Slate (FR)
SLAM Sports (USA)
Slate (FR)
A history of women in wrestling, including extracts from the book.
buy unladylike
The best way to support my book is to buy a copy directly from me.
Please order below and specifiy what you would like (£2.00 for shipping will be added).
E book £5.00
Signed copy of book £15.00
Signed copy of book with a print of artwork by Jules Scheele £20.00
Print of Jules Scheele's illustrations (A4) £5.00 each
podcasts featuring unladylike
Grap Grrls Podcast
Pro Wrestling Torch (USA)
Pro Wrestling Torch (USA)
Interview with Heather about her reasons for writing the book, and her love of zines with the world's only riot grrl wrestling podcast
Pro Wrestling Torch (USA)
Pro Wrestling Torch (USA)
Pro Wrestling Torch (USA)
An interview with Rich Fann
Holy Shoot Podcast
Pro Wrestling Torch (USA)
Switch On, Tag In Podcast
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Heather chats about her book and wider debates in the wrestling community around women in the ring.
Switch On, Tag In Podcast
Last Minute Wrestling (IT)
Switch On, Tag In Podcast
An interview with Shaz from the Switch On, Tag in Podcast about the London School of Lucha Libre, and how this inspired Heather's book.
Last Minute Wrestling (IT)
Last Minute Wrestling (IT)
Last Minute Wrestling (IT)
An interview with journalist Frank Mandolini
Wrestle Thoughts
Last Minute Wrestling (IT)
Last Minute Wrestling (IT)
I chat with Kurt about the release of Unladylike
Past musings of an angry lady wrestler
The Guardian
The Independent
The Guardian
Online comment on women's wrestling aimed squarely at a non-wrestling audience.
Don't read the comments.
Huffpost
The Independent
The Guardian
More on how feminists and wrestlers are secretly best friends
The Independent
The Independent
The Independent
Absolute click bate on one of the UK's leading newspapers.