Angry Fat Girls: 5 Women, 500 Pounds and a Year of Losing It...Again [Hardcover]

Frances Kuffel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

"A skilled blend of insight...and emotion" (Publishers Weekly), a memoir for every woman who has ever tried to lose weight.

Frances Kuffel transformed her life by losing 188 pounds. Unfortunately, she gained over half those pounds back. But she also gained four new friends during this period, whom she met online. Frances, Lindsay, Katie, Mimi, and Wendy bonded quickly, dubbing themselves the Angry Fat Girlz. In Angry Fat Girls, Frances Kuffel shares a candid and witty account of one year in which five women diet and eat, lose and gain, exercise and survive injury-and struggle to find their best selves.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Columnist, poet and short story writer Kuffel spent 42 years morbidly overweight before losing 188 pounds, which she chronicled in 2004's Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self. In this follow-up, she recounts the story of gaining back half of that weight and beginning anew her struggle to find herself, this time with the help of an online "Angry Fat Girls" club, including four other women who have each learned the same disheartening lesson: "nobody who gets thin gets rid of their problems." Kuffel's narrative of rededication is a skilled blend of insight (the psychology of being overweight, the "literary paradigms of the chubby heroine") and emotion ("It is a lonely state, the fat woman and the food and her groaning, aching, widening body") that never flags in intimacy, honesty, or compassion. With keen humor and disarming skill, Kuffel introduces readers to the most private moments of the five women, whose addictive relationships with food make regular nourishment a constant nightmare of temptation. Though separated for most of the story, the members of the club eventually meet up in New York City for a conclusion that should prove unforgettable for anyone who has struggled with self esteem or addiction issues.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Angry Fat Girls is about women, weight loss, body image, and what we did and did not learn growing up fat, and why losing weight-and keeping it off-is so hard. This is not Valerie Bertinelli in a bikini, promising that if she can do it, you can; this is about ''serial relapsers'' and why my cat knows how to eat ice cream off a spoon. This book is honest, true, and occasionally very funny."
-Cheryl Peck, author of Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs

"A wake-up call to anyone who believes that weight management is a quick and easy feat. It''s not. And Kuffel''s greatest gift is a blast of hopeful reality for any brave reader ready to take herself on and honestly face her own food and weight demons."
-Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, Chief Medical Correspondent for Discovery Health Channel, and author of Fight Fat After Forty

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425232182
• ISBN-13: 978-0425232187
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #819,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True reality...., January 28, 2010

By 

NY "yak" (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Angry Fat Girls: 5 Women, 500 Pounds and a Year of Losing It...Again (Hardcover)

I recently decided to re-read Frances Kuffel's first book "Passing for Thin" when I discovered her new book, Angry Fat Girls. I ordered two copies right away and was anxious for their arrival. One copy is for me and another for a friend who shares the same "reality." Losing only to regain what seems like the same 100 pounds over and over again. In this book, Frances' journey is interwoven with those of Lindsay, Katie, Mimi and Wendy. Friends she met here on Amazon. Each woman's story is different and yet the same. I can relate to so much having been on my own weightloss rollercoaster my entire life. I laugh with Frances and at times I cry. My heart aches for these women and their pain. I cheer their victories.

Frances has a edgy humor that suits me. Her thoughts on giving your weight to God or a Higher power made me laugh out loud. Her words, "I can't bear people talking about HP. I inevitably wonder how Hewlett-Packard has provided a miracle." Seriously Frances, I think the computer world miracles are handled by Apple.

As a woman who has spent much of my life "mordidly obese" there are frank topics that I have never seen or heard mentioned before. I am not just like anyone of these five women, but I am the same...just the same.

Mimi's simple realization, "It's my decision whether to be happy or unhappy" struck me as I had that moment about 20 years ago. I chose to be happy whatever I weighed although I want to be healthy so I continue the effort to lose half of myself once again.

Frances deals in facts. "Just the facts Ma'am!" The way she relates those facts really does suit me. Call it inspiration. Maybe I feel a common soul with her and her friends. I know I share a common story. I hope that they are all able to leave the anger behind and find happiness in their lives regardless of their current weight.

This is a thoughful, thought filled book

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to like this book, September 11, 2010

By 

HungryDiva - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angry Fat Girls: 5 Women, 500 Pounds and a Year of Losing It...Again (Hardcover)

I am currently reading this book, and I find it very difficult to get through. I really wanted to like this book because I can identify so much with all of these women. However, I feel like she does a terrible job writing this book. Someone else mentions that she goes off on these little tangents that go on and on. I completely agree. As someone with a difficult time concentrating, I could not focus on her points. She has way too much babble going on. So to make this review shorter, I would not recommend this book to anyone who likes clear cut and straight to the point reading.

This is a terrible read. imo

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Did I read the same book as the other reviewers?, February 27, 2010

By 

Life Lover "Ray" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Angry Fat Girls (Kindle Edition)

I hated this book. I really wanted to like it, I really did. It had the ups and downs of women trying to lose weight and basically failing over and over again... it was about the author but interspersed with the stories of the author's online friends.. maybe my idea of friendship is different, but it seemed almost mean, like she didn't even actually like these women. Some of her comments about them were incredibly snarky. She made some good points but I chug through most Kindle reads in a day or two. This one took me a few weeks. I really didn't want to finish it. If you're looking for some kind of feel-good story, look elsewhere. If you want to hang out with someone while you mutually blame your weight loss on everything under the moon besides yourself? Then read this book.