The Weight of It
A Story of Two Sisters
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A deeply affecting memoir about the bond between two sisters—and the 150 pounds that nearly separated them
As young girls, a year apart in age, Alison and Amy Wilensky were almost indistinguishable. And they were inseparable: growing up in a comfortable Boston suburb, they were never far from each other's side, wearing matching dresses, playing the same games, eating the same food. But Alison began gaining weight in elementary school and by the time she was sixteen was morbidly obese. The sisters remained close, but over the years the daily indignities and affronts endured by Alison took their toll, reshaping her identity indelibly and affecting the sisters' relationship in unanticipated ways.
In her late twenties, Alison underwent gastric bypass surgery, in the wake of which she lost more than 150 pounds and achieved the shape she'd dreamed of for so much of her life. It wasn't just her body that was transformed: every significant relationship in her life was profoundly altered.
The Weight of It is a universal story of how we discover what makes us who we are, and how we become the people we want to be. Amy Wilensky is uniquely equipped to write this book, and she does so with fine perception, insight, and compassion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With wisdom, humor and surprising candor, Wilensky (Passing for Normal) shares the story of two sisters (one year apart) from earliest memory into adulthood. The relationship's bonds and boundaries take on increasing complexity as Wilensky charts her older sister Alison's journey from morbid obesity to thinness following gastric bypass surgery in her late 20s. "Your siblings are the only other citizens from a country nobody else will ever visit," the author observes, but it becomes apparent that these two sisters despite their closeness lived in very different places; while they could be strong allies, they were also formidable antagonists. The author's empathy for Alison is stronger now that they are adults. "Alison's weight was and remains so far down on my list of how I would describe her that it would come after 'master Othello player,' 'makes her own fruit-infused vodkas,' and 'has an uncanny ability to find a parking spot in any city in the country,' " declares Wilensky. But this blind spot also meant she was unable to offer comfort to Alison as she encountered the subtle and overt discrimination faced by the obese, affronts detailed in the book. And Wilensky admits she was not above taunting her sister for putting too much butter on a baked potato. The author's recollections shine with love and offer the insights afforded by the passage of time. Wilensky masterfully tells a story that she recognizes is not truly hers to tell.
