Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs [Paperback]

Cheryl Peck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Cheryl Peck has many stories to tell-of her naughty cat, her quirky family, and her experiences as a large gay woman in the American heartland. Now in a potpourri of real tales by turns poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, Cheryl talks about family and growing up, love and loss. With self-deprecating humor and compassionate insight, she remembers the time she hit her baby sister in the head with a rock, how her father taught her to swim by throwing her into deep water, and the day when-while weighing in at 300 pounds-she became an inspirational goddess at her local gym. Filled with universal stories about a daughter's love for her parents and the eternal quest for finding meaning in it all, this book reveals many seemingly unremarkable moments that make a life-the weighty events that, like fat girls sitting on lawn chairs, just won't let go.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As is evident from this book's cover-featuring a cat in lime-green glasses and purple wig, posing with its tongue sticking out-Peck's debut collection of humorous personal essays and poems is nothing if not irreverent. Originally self-published for the benefit of her friends, family and cat, these warmhearted reminiscences cover everything from Peck's childhood (when she was driven to be the "first, fastest, loudest and best" and therefore hated by her peers and feared by her four younger siblings) to her experiences as a gay woman of size. In the title story, the 50-something Peck explains how she came to conclude that "no self-respecting fat girl ever really trusts a lawn chair," and in "Wounded in Action," the most hilarious and dramatic entry, she describes her misadventures on the softball field: "I gathered every fiber of my being-and there are many, many fibers in my being-and I pointed them all toward first base, and I leaned in that direction, hoping to add speed at a later date...." A few of her essays fall flat-such as "Does a bear...?" a tale of her inability to pee outside-but her many witticisms ("Women were never asked to fight in the war in Vietnam or any other war. But if they had been, girls would have won. Girls would have felt guilty for not winning it sooner, and girls would have restored all of the roads...") compensate for these low points. Cat lovers will appreciate the goofy narratives ostensibly told by Peck's cat, Babycakes, but the author's self-deprecating wit and ability to see the drama in everyday situations make this collection so inviting.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Peck's short essays are, for the most part, tongue-in-cheek and ironic. Some, however, are serious and even moving, such as the one sincerely noting the miracle of her niece's birth, and they relieve and point up her more usual mode of self-deprecation in pieces on, for instance, being so fat that she becomes imprisoned in lawn chairs and is a reverse role model of effort to others at the gym. She also ruefully recounts her adventures in softball, which forced her to run, an action the 46-year-old hadn't taken since 1962. More drifting than running, "with the grace and delicacy of perhaps a hippopotamus," toward first base in 94-degree weather, it occurred to her, when miraculously safe on base, that advancing to second was more likely via ambulance than on foot. Whether reading Peck on the lure of gardening (an occasion signaled by pet cat Babycakes' shedding each spring) or on building a boat with her father, most readers will find this enjoyable first book worth their attention. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Warner Books Ed edition (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446692298
• ISBN-13: 978-0446692298
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Lesbian

More About the Author

I was born in Coldwater Michigan and have lived my entire life within 35 mile of I-94 (Coldwater, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Three Rivers.) I worked for the state of Michigan for 25 years and bolted out the back door for an early retirement to write full-time. I am currently editing a novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Voice of Her Own, March 2, 2004

By 

takingadayoff "takingadayoff" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs (Paperback)

Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs has been compared to the writing of Erma Bombeck. It seems that publishers and publicists feel obliged, when pushing an author who is funny, to compare women to Erma Bombeck and men to Bill Bryson or Dave Barry. Sometimes they awkwardly compare a woman to Bill Bryson -- "a female Bill Bryson!" They never compare a funny male author to Erma Bombeck -- "a male Erma Bombeck!" But I digress.

Cheryl Peck has a voice that is all her own. These short pieces are not hysterically funny. They would not make a good stand-up routine. But they are very well-written. Peck turns seemingly mundane subjects such as growing tomatoes and her first chocolate malt into compelling essays. The pieces about her cat, Babycakes, wander precariously close to the edge of precious, but, to my mind, never go too far. The essay about not coming out to her father was thoughtful, and powerful in its understated style.

I especially love the story of how this book came to be. Friends of Peck convinced her to write down the amusing stories she told them and she finally did, and another friend helped her self-publish it as a book for her family and friends. And now here it is, doing quite well on Amazon.com and at my neighborhood bookstore and at the local library. Well done!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars!, January 3, 2004

By 

Erin Esposito "esposito" (Rochester, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs (Paperback)

Peck writes an astonishingly hilarious book! I laughed outloud so many times while reading this book!

It is a rare find to read a series of mini-essays, in the form of an autobiography, written by an individual who is so comfortable in their own skin and accepts themselves and their life experiences the way Peck has. She holds nothing back - and is genuine in the process. The author certainly has a delightful sense of humor and the mere reading of her book reminds us that we all need to laugh at ourselves from time to time, especially if we want to be happy in our lives.

The style of prose is quite humorous and the imagery very vivid. I intend to have my students read chapters of her book and analyze the writing style - for it is an outstanding model for such a task.

Be forewarned, though, not every essay is as intriguing as the others. Regardless, the book is an excellent read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a hoot!, February 22, 2004

By 

M "M" (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs (Paperback)

I've had this book for less than 24 hours and have read it laughing out loud, with tears in my eyes, and soaking it up like rich conversation with a dear old friend. I even read one story over the phone to my mother, another to my girlfriend, and still another to one of my sisters. Reading Peck's book left me wondering if she's been looking over my shoulder in my own life!? It'll be the give-away book of the year from me to my bestest of friends!