Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

An Best Book of June 2017: If you’re a woman in America, chances are, no matter your size, you probably have a somewhat fetishistic relationship with food. And through Gay’s experience we learn one of lessons she eventually did, that “all of us have to be more considerate of the realities of the bodies of others,” and more accepting of our own. In her brutally honest and brave memoir Hunger, Gay recounts a childhood sexual assault that led her to purposely gain weight in order to be unseen and therefore “safe.” Gay warns at the beginning of the book that if you’re looking for a triumphant weight loss memoir, this is not it. For those that fit that (ever narrowing) bill, congratulations! Clothes are designed to fit you, kale growers love you, and so does society. --Erin Kodicek, The Bo

Meg Tuite said Unforgettable, fierce, unparalleled!!! GET A COPY! LOVE!!!. I read this book in one sitting. No possible way that anything could stand in the way of Roxane Gay's collection, "Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body"! I sobbed through each essay as Gay revealed her depth and each secret was stripped and empowered on the page! This is by far the fiercest and most unforgettable memoir I have read to date! Some quotes:"My warmth was hidden far from anything that could bring hurt because I knew I didn't have the inner scaffoldi. Yes. Leesa Cross-Smith I love Roxane's writing. Also, her heart and generosity. Those things are true, even outside of this book. This book of secrets. This book of humanness and at times, devastating truths. I've been writing Roxane little fan letters since around 2011. 10/10 will keep it up.. Somebody's Nurse said A beautiful read. I loved this memoir-style book by Dr. Gay. Though I am not currently overweight or obese, I have over the years struggled with and overcome bulimia, though I still struggle with body dysmorphia.As Roxane shared her life, I really felt like I could easily relate to her story with empathy, compassion, and care, which I think is so important when a person makes themselves vulnerable enough to share their life in deep, meaningful, and powerful. And I want to

Hunger is a deeply personal memoir from one of our finest writers, and tells a story that hasn’t yet been told but needs to be. In Hunger, she casts an insightful and critical eye on her childhood, teens, and twenties—including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life—and brings readers into the present and the realities, pains, and joys of her daily life. As a woman who describes her own body as “wildly undisciplined,” Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care.  “I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe.  With the bracing candor, vulnerability, and authority that have made her one of the most admired voices of her generation, Roxane explores what it means to be overweight in a time when the bigger you are, the less you are seen. I was trapped in my body, one that I barely recognized or understood, but at least I was safe.”  New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and bodies, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. The Instant New York Times