Fight the Good Fight: From vicar's wife to killing machine, By Catherine Fox
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fox's account of her conversion to judo in her forties (although she did practise briefly as a teenager) isn't so much to do with her soul or any divine calling as it is with her concern over ageing and weight loss. But thin as this premise is for a 230-page book, it still manages to be thought-provoking, in a light-hearted way.
Why she's always been attracted to fighting she traces back to her childish longings to be a boy (she had three sisters), but why she, a middle-class, almost middle-aged mother of two should still have that competitive urge now, and that it should take the form of slamming grown men down on their backs, is something of a mystery to her. Being a vicar's wife, though, perhaps she's attracted to systems and rules – her fighting spirit, it's quite clear, is never an anarchic one. Fox is not one to upset the order of things and I can imagine that's what makes her writing so popular. Fun and adventure – but for the Home Counties, not necessarily for all.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments