Debbie Bateman’s debut collection of short stories, Your Body Was Made for This (Ronsdale Press), takes a clear-eyed look at the largely unexplored private world of a pivotal stage in every woman’s life. 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 perimenopause can get messy. “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