group discussion

Hi Ms. Weiner-

Wow! I'm a total Jennifer Weiner junkie. I've read all your books, and I admire your honesty and obvious vulnerability as a writer.

Like most women, your characters seem to come close to the idea of self-acceptance, but seem to just miss the mark. This made me curious about the end of the book (like others, I'm sure). Did you want your readers to leave the book with the idea that Cannie will survive on her own, and that she has ultimately accepted the person she is, or is she still searching. Do you think a person can get to the point of self-actualization?

Also, I've been a middle school teacher for thirteen years, and I have to say, you were dead on with your young characters. Thank you for not making Joy a perfect little angel.

Brett Michaels is hot.

See, I think the idea of Bret Michaels is hot, but the reality, not so much. The hair thing disturbs me…I mean, what’s going on underneath that bandanna? Troubling.

In terms of the self-esteem thing, I don’t know if any woman gets to the point of absolute self-acceptance, but I want a world in which my big girls don’t spend endless amounts of time tormenting themselves about their size. Limited amounts of time are okay, but endless amounts are not.

And its exactly your approach to self acceptance that we all love. We all reach a point where we stop torturing ourselves over wanting to be a certain weight or size (a la Bridget Jones). I don't start the day by weighing myself and structuring (or trying to anyway) my life around those numbers.

As for Bret Michaels,I totally got sucked into the first season. God only knows why because I didn't even like his music when he was supposedly hot. I loved the way Jes rejected him. Every rose has its thorn indeed. Someone ::had:: to say that.