Vibrant, vivacious, and gorgeous, Wendy Shanker is a fat girl who has simply had enough-enough of family, friends, co-workers, women's magazines, ...
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reviews
Aug 03, 2010
Summer
rated it: 
A fun read for any woman of any shape and size. Candid, funny, and a good reality check.
Some quotes I liked:
It’s time to change our attitudes about this whole body-image business. It is a business. It is an image. But it is YOUR body, which contains YOUR mind, which can be a whole lot easier to change than the width of your thighs or the shape of your ass.
(page 2)
…But I no longer apologize for who I am or how I look. I have more important things to do.
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Some quotes I liked:
It’s time to change our attitudes about this whole body-image business. It is a business. It is an image. But it is YOUR body, which contains YOUR mind, which can be a whole lot easier to change than the width of your thighs or the shape of your ass.
(page 2)
…But I no longer apologize for who I am or how I look. I have more important things to do.
More...
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Nov 07, 2011
Karen
rated it:
As a plump girl I found this book funny and entertaining, and took away from it the idea that as a culture we really need to struggle to forget about the way people look, and try to treat everyone as human beings. Seriously, there are more important things to think about - that's the message. And it gets delivered in a nice laugh-out-loud wrapper, which is great. So don't buy this thinking this is a How To or a Self Help book. It's an entertaining read from an American stand-up comedian, wit
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Jan 09, 2011
Penelope
rated it: 
I thought Shanker's views and experiences about what it means to be "Fat" were funny and insightful. I had a hard time relating to her on a lot of levels, however, particularly when it came to her many rants about dieting. It often seemed to me that she was stating the obvious (i.e. diets will not make you skinny, or healthy). I did weight watchers once in high school and that was my first and last experience with "dieting." Overall I can't say I've ever felt any sort of
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Jul 28, 2011
Samantha
rated it:
As a fatty, I definitely WANTED to love this book. I got it home, started reading, had a few laughs, but all in all (and I'm about 4/5 the way through it) I have to say I'm a little disappointed.
With lines like: "At least Tyra and Cameron had the satisfaction of knowing that they were gonna make good when they filled out. When we grow up (and fill in), we Hefties are still...garbage," I was left thinking, "This is supposed to be encouraging?" While I can relate to some More...
With lines like: "At least Tyra and Cameron had the satisfaction of knowing that they were gonna make good when they filled out. When we grow up (and fill in), we Hefties are still...garbage," I was left thinking, "This is supposed to be encouraging?" While I can relate to some More...
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Aug 13, 2010
Linda
rated it: 
A zippy, entertaining, intelligent, yaHOO romp through the world of size 12 +. There are laughs ("Back a zillion years ago, before the sexual revolution, women were repressed and life was easy.") There is anger ("We are taught to behave. To be good. To shrink, to fit in. To act like nice girls. To shut up.") And throughout there is the reality of being a big woman in a shopaholic world that doesn't make clothes, or room, for us. So many bookmarked places in this book, I got t
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Mar 10, 2011
Teresa
rated it:
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few years. I got it when I was in the midst of a weight-related funk but never got around to reading it. The last several months have brought on another funk, and I’m glad this book was here to help pull me out of it.
You see, Wendy Shanker is, like me, a Fat Girl—with a capital F. For Shanker, being Fat is not something to be miserable about. She’s out to reclaim the word from all of people who talk about how disgusting fat is, how all fat p More...
You see, Wendy Shanker is, like me, a Fat Girl—with a capital F. For Shanker, being Fat is not something to be miserable about. She’s out to reclaim the word from all of people who talk about how disgusting fat is, how all fat p More...
May 11, 2011
Erin
rated it:
Wendy Shanker decided to take back the word fat, and make it work for her. Her book is funny, informative, and honest. It also has some amazing self-esteem discoveries, and it promotes being healthy and learning about self-love. My only problem with it is that she sometimes contradicted herself and also repeated herself occasionally.
She writes about stereotypes, discrimination, clothing, self-esteem, sex, and even food. She pretty much breaks it down, and lets the readers know it More...
She writes about stereotypes, discrimination, clothing, self-esteem, sex, and even food. She pretty much breaks it down, and lets the readers know it More...
Jul 09, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it:
One of my new favorites!
If Wendy Shanker in real life is anything like Wendy Shanker author, I really want to hang out with her. Anyone who writes, “I have no patience for people who won’t eat this and won’t eat that…Three cheers for discipline but, like, stay home and eat.” is someone I want to know. YES! Stay home, indeed. Being a scone/muffin/pastry-a-day gal myself, an immediate sense of camaraderie flooded my senses upon reading these lines and it has stayed. Shanker, author of More...
If Wendy Shanker in real life is anything like Wendy Shanker author, I really want to hang out with her. Anyone who writes, “I have no patience for people who won’t eat this and won’t eat that…Three cheers for discipline but, like, stay home and eat.” is someone I want to know. YES! Stay home, indeed. Being a scone/muffin/pastry-a-day gal myself, an immediate sense of camaraderie flooded my senses upon reading these lines and it has stayed. Shanker, author of More...
Apr 22, 2010
ONTD
rated it:
LJ user popehippo:
A chronicle of the author's struggles with her weight, her pereception of it, the negativity of the Diet Culture, and her acceptance of it. I haven't read it in a while but this was a HUGE influence for me going through high school, and made me feel much better about myself. I haven't run into other books that I identified with quite as much, though there probably are better out there, but I'd still really suggest it!
A chronicle of the author's struggles with her weight, her pereception of it, the negativity of the Diet Culture, and her acceptance of it. I haven't read it in a while but this was a HUGE influence for me going through high school, and made me feel much better about myself. I haven't run into other books that I identified with quite as much, though there probably are better out there, but I'd still really suggest it!
Oct 09, 2011
LA
rated it:
The author seems conflicted... She admits that not everyone is fat because they overeat, but then makes comments all through the book about how fat people overeat. An OK book if you're just starting on your size acceptance journey, but not as good as more recent Health At Any Size books where the author clearly really does accept and love themselves.
Jan 02, 2009
Nima
rated it:
Another book that is legendary in the Curvy revolution. There were many things as a plus size woman in here I found myself agreeing with, this book came out, just as the revolution was begining, and may or may not have had a hand in shaping it.
Jun 20, 2010
Candice
rated it:
Thanks to my friend Stephanie for loaning this to me. I need to lose weight for health reasons. I am not doing it for society and if anyone has a problem with my weight then that's their issue.
Jun 30, 2011
This is another fat-positive book in the vein of Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere. Shanker covers familiar topics--including media images, medical journalism, the weight-loss industry--in a friendly tone. She reiterates the message that a woman should focus on being healthy, not skinny, when it comes to thinking about scales, food & exercise. (It always irritates me when well-intentioned friends and family ask, 'do you want to join me on my diet?' No, I don't, but I will join you in eating sensibly
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Dec 15, 2010
Stephanie
rated it: 
Laugh out loud funny view of gaining, loosing, and the diet industry. But the dialogue becomes tedious and repetitive, rehashing the same views over and over.
Aug 01, 2011
Shawna
rated it:
This book was filled with nutritional information that I had never read before... did you know that livestock pumped with steroids and growth hormones transfer into our bodies?!?! Scary!!
Jun 07, 2011
Shana
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i learned a lot from this book. there is no BS and it is straight forward. it def. helped to see myself in a different light. :)
Mar 11, 2010
~*kath*~
rated it:
A sensible, honest, no nonsense look at fat acceptance and body politics. I don't agree with all of her thoughts but she really hits the nail on the head with the diet industry, feminism and as she refers to them, the "indignant thin". An excellent read for all women.
Dec 17, 2009
Linnea
rated it:
What I learned from this book: Ghandi isn't the only preaching the words "Be the change you want to see in the world."
I thought this book was very funny, easy to read, and in my case, very easy to relate to. I enjoyed the stats that would spring up; as well as the way she stressed drawing your own conclusions after presenting new information.
All in all, I liked it a lot but think it's time for a second edition (for example, her example "hot chick" is More...
I thought this book was very funny, easy to read, and in my case, very easy to relate to. I enjoyed the stats that would spring up; as well as the way she stressed drawing your own conclusions after presenting new information.
All in all, I liked it a lot but think it's time for a second edition (for example, her example "hot chick" is More...
Apr 15, 2008
rachelle
rated it:
I liked this and think she presented some interesting points about size issues. There were times when her voice irritated me and left me believing that she only thinks it's okay to be fat if you work out regularly. Like, I'm fat but I hit my target heart rate like I'm supposed to but YOU are fat and you just sit around all day with Ben and Jerry so you're a BAD kind of fat.
She wasn't saying it outright, but I saw it in the in-betweens. Still, mostly a good read and made me really thi More...
She wasn't saying it outright, but I saw it in the in-betweens. Still, mostly a good read and made me really thi More...
Mar 10, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Read this book years ago. Shanker is hilarious! My favorite part is when she talks about Weight Watchers.
Jan 01, 2012
Roxanne
rated it:
A real read. I thought this would be a throw-away, but it turns out that I recommend it.
Jun 18, 2010
Very funny book about the fat girls funny, sad, emotional, happpy times in there life.
May 16, 2009
G
rated it:
this book is for every woman who obssesses over her weight. It is not about not being healthy, but more about not beating yourself up when all your attempts at losing weight have gone to shit. It's about confronting the myths and lies that people have about big and skinny people. Shanker uses humor to address the way people who obsess over their weight, and those who critisize others about their weight and to find confidence in ourselves just as we are.
Nov 11, 2007
Eileen
rated it:
"The Fat Girl's Guide to Life" was a very funny true story/memoir about Wendy Shanker. It made me feel good about my size, and not to ever let others get me down. So long as you take care of yourself, and you feel good, you can be happy in your own skin. That is what I feel I learned the most from this book, and I laughed a lot along the way.
She is a very witty and good writer!
She is a very witty and good writer!
Mar 30, 2007
Sabrina
rated it:
This is a hilarious book written by a thick Jewish woman who tells it like it is for us bigger girls out there...she is unfailingly honest, intelligent, and witty, which is a great combination when you're tackling such a sensitive issue. She preaches about living the kind of life you want to live RIGHT NOW instead of waiting for a better, skinnier tomorrow. Amem, sista friend.
