Weight Issues | Book Chatter

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
By Roxane Gay
Harper, 9780062362599, June 2017, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Gay’s story touches on so many things. Although the title is called Hunger, it’s about insecurities, fear, doubt, and most of all identity.

The Rest of It:

This book fell into my hands at the library and although it’s a memoir, my least fave thing to read besides romance, I decided to read a few pages to see if I would like it and the next time I put it down was when I finished it.

At a very young age, Roxane Gay was gang-raped by a group of boys and it affected her for years to come. When I say affected, I mean that it completely transformed who she thought she was which directly impacted how she felt about her body. Her body grew as she continued to feed it. This feeding, her weak attempt at burying herself and making herself invisible caused other problems, of course.

This was a powerful read and very well-done. It gave me a lot to think about and yes, anyone who has struggled with weight, myself included, will certainly identify with what Gay speaks of but it’s so much more. Even if you are not a fan of memoir, pick it up because it’s very, very good.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

It Was Me All Along (A Memoir)
By Andie Mitchell
(Clarkson Potter, Hardcover, 9780770433246, January 6, 2015, 240pp.)

The Short of It:

A warm, sometimes funny, often heartbreaking novel about a young girl trying to find herself.

The Rest of It:

Yes, folks! It’s a memoir. I know I don’t read them often but this was written by a blogger I’ve been following for the better part of a year and a half. Andie Mitchell’s blog, Can You Stay For Dinner? chronicles her weight loss journey, which truly began when she was in college, but it’s really about so much more than that and although the blog alludes to certain periods in her life, the book goes into them in detail.

Raised in a loving family but one battling the effects of alcoholism, Andie learned at a very young age that food could be comforting. Her love of food is both a blessing and a curse, and all the while her story is told with the utmost honesty, tinged with a great deal of shame.

There was a decade, back in the 90’s I want to say, where weight loss memoirs were a dime a dozen. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve read one, but this one really has a different tone to it. Yes, it focuses on food and weight loss but it’s more about a young woman trying to find her place in the world. Mitchell’s struggle for acceptance, her bouts of isolation and shame, are things that we can all relate to, regardless of weight.

On her blog, she writes as if she’s talking to a close friend. The book has that same tone. It’s warm and inviting and even though I don’t know her personally, I feel as if I do. Plus, her story is inspirational. She lost over 135 lbs and at no point was it easy.

The other thing I really enjoyed is the way she writes about food. She’s a foodie, no doubt about it and any foodie will be drooling over her take of a perfect cupcake or pizza pie. Clearly, her love of food is still present but the way she views food is what’s changed.

I really enjoyed this one. If you’re looking for something different to break up your fiction pile, give this book a try.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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