F*ck Your Diet
And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
*A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist
*Named Best Comedy Book by the African American Literary Awards Show
Fans of Issa Rae and Phoebe Robinson will love this collection of laugh-out-loud funny and insightful essays that explore race, feminism, pop culture, and how society reinforces the message that we are nothing without the perfect body.
By the time Chloé Hilliard was 12, she wore a size 12—both shoe and dress—and stood over six feet tall. Fitting in was never an option. That didn’t stop her from trying. Cursed with a “slow metabolism,” “baby weight,” and “big bones,”—the fat trilogy—Chloe turned to fad diets, starvation, pills, and workouts, all of which failed.
Realizing that everything—from government policies to corporate capitalism—directly impacts our relationship with food and our waistlines, Chloé changed her outlook on herself and hopes others will do the same for themselves.
The perfect mix of cultural commentary, conspiracies, and confessions, F*ck Your Diet pokes fun at the all too familiar, misguided quest for better health, permanent weight loss, and a sense of self-worth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist turned stand-up comic Hilliard delivers a heartfelt, amusing essay collection about her struggles with her weight in an image-conscious culture. Hilliard, who fluctuated "between fat and thick from the age of twelve," grew up with the nickname "big." In "Starving Kids in Africa," she writes about getting overfed by her food-loving grandmother, and, in "Let Them Eat Ketchup," about later being sent to school by her mother with SlimFast for lunch. Throughout, she analyzes the impact that government policies have had on her "waistline, self-esteem, and body image," and repeatedly calls out former president Ronald Reagan, who, when she was a kid in 1981, slashed budgets for public school lunches, which she says increased unhealthy food offerings and contributed to childhood obesity. She shares a funny story about buying a treadmill that put her in debt ("The $1500 Mistake") and gleefully recalls her decision to leave journalism and pursue stand-up ("I'm a Comedian"). Hilliard's battles with food may not be over, but age has given her perspective: "I'm smart, but I'll never really grasp the concept of calories." The author's self-love message will resonate with readers who appreciate narratives of personal and professional fulfillment.
