Kimberly Brittingham

What I expected was a marginally interesting read with a few pointers on living life to its fullest whether that's in size or grandeur, what I got was happily a bit more with a few spots of discomfort along the edges. Allow me to explain.

This book is part memoir, part self help in the fact that you get to see life through the author's eyes, but also gain a bit of insight to better help you come to a place of understanding and acceptance about your body image. There are times you will laugh....like around page 19 where you get the infamous 'Sixteen Candles' quote. There are times you will cry....like when she is rejected by this butt of a guy who doesn't deserve the time of day even. There are times you'll be shocked....such as the snack raids her and her fellow diet center workers had on unsuspecting boxes of diet peanut butter bars. There are times you will take notes and try things for yourself....like unleashing your inner 'Marilyn Monroe' with a strut (totally works....totally). It's an interesting mix of life experience and lessons gleaned and shared from the heart. The strength that it took to go through some of those experience and then to share them with the world in such a frank manner....if we were holding votes for world's strongest woman, she'd have to be amongst the contestants.

I respect and am all for the way the author came to terms with her self image and realized that it had no bearing (or rather shouldn't have any bearing) on her self value. No one is less worthy of love, respect, acknowledgement, etc simply because of their weight or lack thereof. There were times though that I was uncomfortable as a reader. The derrogatory nature of the terms "fat", "overweight", even "big" that our society has ingrained in us versus her comfort level (or perceived comfort level) with throwing them around left me squirming. I mean, okay...I admit it. I'm not the thinnest person on the planet by any means nor am I the largest but even if I was I don't think I could truly accept those terms into my own vocabulary to openly refer to myself. Just a personal quirk perhaps, but one that struck me while reading nonetheless.

The moral of the story....it's not bad if you're "big", but your health is another matter altogether. Striking a balance between these two opposites as well as your own happiness is truly the most we can hope for out of life...and we should accept nothing less. My personal opinion....eat healthy and in moderation. Start making those choices early (even today...it's never too late) and it will become a part of your body's make up allowing you to have your salad and eat your cake too.

Recommended read for older teens and adult readers interesting in the life and times of a fellow traveller on this crazy road we call life or simply looking for someone who has "been there done that and is going back for more". You'll laugh a little, learn a lot and best of all learn the meaning of unconditional acceptance as it applies to others as well as yourself.… (mer)