I Like Books

Much to my dismay, this memoir fell flat for me. There was so much potential and it was sad to see the few promising of the aspects of the book ignored or written off.

Maybe I had the wrong impression of this book. I thought this book was about a weight-loss journey for someone who has struggled with it her entire life and how society's idea on thin women and bla bla blah. But the more I read the more I'm getting the idea is that this woman, depending on her height and muscle mass has been no more then twenty pounds over weight her entire life.

The strong parts-the background story of the author growing up through her college years could have been some good fodder for this memoir. I felt however much of that was grazed over. The organization of this book jumps around which often times leaves what could be big topics to be explored passed over (like doing coke in the 90's). The drug, drinking and sex I thought could have been explored more-at least in an attempt to make the memoir more interesting and bring in readers.

I got the feeling that prior to writing this book the author had been searching for a quick and permanent fix for her twenty-pounds. And then instead of doing research and reading about health and fitness she did an emotional cleanse that resulted in losing some weight...but we don't know how much because she stopped weighing herself.

I suppose the author was more interested in being in a healthier "mental" state of mind rather than a healthier physical state. As long as her pants fit and she could eat dessert without feeling guilt she had succeeded. Towards the middle of the book the author begins to talk about this "non-diet" she's on. Not once does she say that this is a lifestyle change and only once does she mention eating fruits and veggies.

The constant theme of being thin and nothing about actual health being mentioned bugged me throughout the read.

I do take into account though that the author is about my mother's age and that growing up their generation wasn't as health conscious as my generation came to be. But that's another story for another time.

On the flip side, there were a few times I could relate to the author. Growing up I wasn't the most slender child in class, in my family, of my friends. I hated trying on clothes at the store which very well could translate to my shopping habits today.

Unlike the author's mom, my mom never commented about my weight but other parental figures had-two situations that stick out in my memory today. People, men especially do not realize how delicate young girls are. When the author began to describe hurtful instances with a middle school teacher I recalled a time when an old science teacher of mine laughed in my face when I asked to volunteer for something. Some things never do change over time.

Overall, much like many of the diets the author has tried over the years I felt cheated after reading this book. I expected more and instead got a story of part dieting gone awry and part "How my family's changed". It was a weird mix to say the least.