Thin Is the New Happy - by Valerie Frankel (Paperback)

About the Book

Frankel, like most women, has endured years of dieting, starvation, and total preoccupation with her weight. Not wanting to pass this legacy on to her own daughters, she sets out to cleanse herself of these painful and damaging cycles, which she chronicles in this hilarious, unflinching memoir.

Book Synopsis

You've heard the phrase "the mirror is not your friend." For Valerie Frankel, the mirror was so much more than "not a friend." It was the mean girl who stole her lunch money, bitch-slapped her in the ladies' room, and cut the hair off her Barbie.

Like most women, Valerie spent most of her conscious life on a diet, thinking about a diet, ignoring a diet, or failing on a diet. At age eleven, her mother put Val on her first weight-loss program. As a teen, she was enrolled in Weight Watchers (for which she invented creative ditching methods). As a young woman, her world felt right only when she was able to zip a certain pair of jeans. Not wanting to pass this legacy on to her own daughters, Valerie set out to cleanse herself of her obsession. Thin Is the New Happy is the true story of one woman's quest to exorcise her bad body-image demons, to uncover the truths behind what put them there, and to learn how to truly love herself.

Review Quotes

"Rueful, zestful, surprisingly funny." --The New York Times

"Infused with humor and refreshing candor, the book will resonate with anyone who's counted carbs or tried to subsist on rice cakes and grapefruit. A self-aware, witty exploration of a woman's body issues." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Valerie Frankel has been an editor for Mademoiselle magazine and is a contributor to Self, Good Housekeeping, and Parenting magazines. She has written fourteen novels. Thin Is the New Happy is her first memoir. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two daughters, and three cats.