Stranger Here: How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed with My Head
After she loses 180 pounds from weight-loss surgery, Larsen lives happier ever after. As she says in her epilogue, written more than five years after the procedure, she never regrets going under the knife. Still, she doesn’t see it as a panacea: “Being skinnier is far, far easier in this world than being fat, and being skinny does not solve all your problems.” She describes how she changes inside and out, even though she hardly becomes the poster girl for healthy living. Before her surgery, Larsen stops at the convenience store to get two 20-ounce liters of diet Pepsi, two king-size Kit Kats, and a pack of menthol cigarettes. Afterward, she does buy a bike, but she also keeps smoking and drinking too much alcohol. Throughout her honest memoir, she bravely shares her emotions about being fat and unhappy, which should help slim readers feel empathetic and remind those who are overweight that they are not alone. --Karen Springen