Fat, Stupid, Ugly: One Woman's Courage to Survive

by Debrah Constance, J.I. Kleinberg, Penny Marshall (Foreword)

The founder of the "A Place Called Home" youth mentoring program describes the cruel labeling in her childhood that established her low self-esteem, her adult alcohol abuse, her divorces, and her battle with cancer before she found the courage and hope to survive. Original. 50,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Abuse, Memoir

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Samanthaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Fat, stupid, ugly by debrah constance is about a girl when she was small was not loved right. When her mom gave birth to her, she didnt wanted to hold her. She always lived with the name callings of fat ugly and that she was stupid. When her little sister came to the world she was the best of her mom and dad. She was intelligent and beautiful and her father would show her to everyone at work and to debrah he would hide her in the closet. Her father would sexually abuse her and physically and mentally. After a while she started smoking by the age of 12 or 13. Then she moved in with her grandma. Debrah had worked in couple of top jobs like companys ect. She had a couple of marriages. Her first one would abuse her alot. after she went back to live with her grandparents her grandma died then her grandfather after a couple of months or years. She had a son. after that she became an alcholic and would use drugs when she was in a relationship with another man. The bad moments in life kept going. after she went into charity and all. I recommend this book to those that like non-fiction, the real life things and memories.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow the way that the author wrote this is awsome. This book teached me that if i ever have kids to treat them the same. Because in this book Debbies mom like her litte sister way better. The only love she gets from her parents is from her father. Be even rapes her. I think this be reads by parents , so they could learn a important lesson which is to always treat her ids the same.

[Kristine Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fat, Stupid, Ugly was a book, like many others I have read, showing the strength of people to overcome adversity. I admire Debrah Constance for her strength and determination to improve the lives of the young people in her community. I did feel that there was a lot of issues that were touched on, which made the flow of the book rushed and at some points overwhelming. It could have been broken down into several books that would get into more detail. A Place Called Home, the youth center that Constance founded, is something I'd like to learn more about.

[Luz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read.

[Tiffany Cupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me want to change the world but its 4 am so what are you gonna do?

[Diane Mueller · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was told this book was the woman's version of A Child Called It. Nope not even close. Took me a long time to read because it couldn't keep my interest. Very disappointing to me but I'm not sure I would of even enjoyed it if I was reading it with A Child Called It in mind. Yes her childhood wasn't easy, bad things happened to her, bad things happened during one of her marriages. Yes she has started a great organization and I wish she had focus on it and the children there. Then maybe I would of enjoyed the book more. I was thinking of sending this to my old high school after I read it. Now that I read it I don't think any of the kids there would even relate to this woman's life. Not like they did to A Child Called It.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in 8th grade. I was going through a hard time and thought I would be able to relate to this book. While reading this book I learned a lot. People could be so cruel and not care about anyone or how they feel. When people call other people names it makes them feel bad about themselves. I thought the author made some really good points and described how her experience shaped her as a person. I think we could all learn something through this book.

[Ashleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fan of A Child Called It, I assumed I would enjoy Fat, Stupid, Ugly as well. Unfortunately I did not and found that though the story itself was inspiring, the execution was boring and choppy. I would not read another book by this author. If you haven't already, try reading a Child Called It, a better book in this genre.

[Carolina EVHS Quiroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a very interesting book,maybe a little sad. Debrah Constance writes this book about the verbal, physical and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. I probably wouldn't read this book again since its a bit depressing but I learned a lot about how abuse at an early age can affect you later on in life, and affect all of your decisions.

[Jodumb Gearhart]

Inspiring!

[Isabel1692]

i learned that you don't have to do what your father tells you do and you should never let your husband treat you bad

[Neely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. I laughed out loud and felt as if I knew the author. She is a true inspiration.

[Chris cruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

i heard this book is beast so u already know

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of a woman abused by her father. A testament to resilience.

[Max Ostrovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just goes to show, awful parents and upbringing make for publishable memoirs.

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational story about a girl that suffered emotional abuse from both parents, sexual abuse from her father, and spousal abuse. There were ups and downs but she went on to found A Place Called Home, a place for disadvantaged youth to go after school for support, activities, and to learn new skills. Even though the book is about 13 years old, the message is timely, with all the talk these days about body shaming.