I know I’ll be thinking about the ideas put forth here for a while, although my reactions haven’t quite crystallized yet. This is a place I have never lived in before and this book, read at this particular time in my life, struck a deep chord. I am constantly thinking about my body and its effect on my emotions. To order a copy for 6.99 go to or call 03. It has been a really interesting experience, making weight loss and my body a focus of my attention more than at any other time in my life. Hunger by Roxane Gay is published by Corsair (8.99). This year, I have lost 30 pounds while doing Weight Watchers. This is a story of someone who recognizes her struggles and wants to overcome them and yet understands that they provide her with comfort and feelings of relative safety. This is a story of a fat woman who wants to accept herself and also does not want to be fat anymore. This is not a story of simple fat acceptance. However, the content was challenging and I appreciated that.
Most of the time, it didn’t really feel like writing as much as just getting the words on the page. For some reason, the writing just didn’t connect with me. To be honest, I didn’t like this book as much as I anticipated I would. Hunger explores Gay’s feelings about the trauma she experienced, her family, and her relationships, as well as the burden of moving through this world as a fat person and her desire to lose weight.
She traces the story of her body from the time she was gang raped at age 12 by some boys from school, acknowledging that she purposely gained weight in order to protect herself. She is a very large woman, six-foot and three inches tall, having weighed, at one point, over five hundred pounds. Hunger is the story of Roxane Gay’s body (as you might have guessed from the title). I also follow her on Twitter and enjoy her feminism, humor, and authenticity. I was familiar with Gay’s writing from my old favorite (now defunct) blog, The Toast. With that in mind, I chose a memoir for book number two: Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, by Roxane Gay. In an effort to stave off that possible consequence, I’m planning to follow my reading whims this year, while purposefully mixing it up. I don’t want to be so burned out from having to read that I don’t want to read anymore. I don’t want reading to feel like an obligation this year. I had a very book-heavy course load in college, and during that time, I had little desire to read anything for fun. I’ve been a little worried that this 50 book challenge is going to make reading a chore.