I don’t think I’ve made a secret of my issues with weight. I certainly carried more than I wanted through most of my 20s. So I was intrigued to read Jennifer Weiner’s biography, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing. She is possibly the only mainstream popular writer to portray main characters who carry their weight with them. Their endings, somewhat happy, somewhat conflicted, always realistic – NEVER include a beauty transformation on the outside but instead showcase a transformation of their opinion of themselves.
It would be irresponsible of me not to say while I liked this book a lot, there are numerous triggers. Eating disorders, abusive parents, creditors calling and shouting at you as a child, judgement, pain, the desperate desire to fit in when you don’t. All my story and all horribly triggering.
I loved reading about her struggle to get published. The path she took, where she was brave despite her fear that another opportunity would ever come along. I hated hearing how belittled she has been by literary writers and reviewers. All her statistics on popular women’s fiction were staggering. I could share but I won’t. Read the book. Even if you only read the chapters on writing, it’s worth your time.
℘℘℘℘ – Four Pages.
T.A. Henry 