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Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp

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If you grew up as the "chubby" or "fat" kid on the block, you'll understand and relate immediately to Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein. I could definitely relate...

Contents:
Part 1: Baby Fat
Part 2: Weigh of Life; Sabotaje; Sloppy Seconds; Bay of Pigs; Your Worth In Weight; Blame It On the Rain; Shrinkwrapped; Mamma Mia; When Even "Misfit" Misfits; American Pie; Hurts So Good; Are You There, God? It's Me, Pound Cake; Caught; Inside Out; Tall Takes and Heroes
Part 3: Moose; To Fat and Back; The Hate Diet; Father Figurative; The Mother Load

This is an actual "memoir" of the author and the five years she spent at various fat camps. She was overweight as a child, and struggled (like we all do) with acceptance and self-worth issues. Her parents sent her to the camps to learn better eating habits and to get more exercise. The style is somewhat unique, in that she blends all the camps, friends, counselors, and enemies into a single fictional camp over one summer. As she states up front, names and some details have been combined and modified to protect the innocent, but everything in the book actually did happen. Things like falling in and out of love numerous times, sneaking out of camp with friends to have a food binge, and learning how to make oneself vomit in order to get rid of the food gorging that just took place. Throughout the book, you get a peek into the mind of an overweight child who desperately wants to be accepted for who she is, but is constantly judged by how much weight she carries. Her obsession with weight continues on to this day, manifesting in issues such as not wanting to gain any weight while pregnant for fear she'll once again be fat. Part 3 of the book does get more into her adult attitudes and issues, but you realize they're still tied back to that overweight child being shipped off to fat camp. No matter how thin she gets, in her mind she's destined to always be "fat".

Having been that fat kid myself, I could identify and relate to many of her experiences. Unlike her, I'm still fighting my weight problem on the upper end of the scale. But that self-image of the short fat kid is always there, and will probably never go away. Moose is well-written and worth reading. If you've never grown up with weight issues, you'll begin to understand what those of us who did went through. And if you *were* the fat kid, this may be a way for you to step back and realize that those times are gone and you've grown up.

Moose, A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein was truly a remarkable book. I was so impressed by the author's honesty in telling about her experiences of being an overweight preteen and teen. Her descriptions of the embarrassment and anger felt by the rejection and names she was called was convincing. I could identify with so much of what was written, the poor body image, the pain of not being accepted just for who you are. I believe that most women have a poor body image; we obsess about those areas that aren't "perfect" and fail to recognize what is good about our bodies. It's good to read that these feelings are shared by others.
The only fault I felt with the book was the jumping around from the past to the present and not making it entirely clear what time we were reading about. But with a little extra concentration I would easily work out what the author was talking about.

I feel this is an important book for anyone with weight issues. Her discussion of various eating disorders was extremely interesting. I think teenagers especially should read this book to find they are not alone in their feelings.

I had read Straight Up And Dirty by Author Stephanie Klein and anxiously awaited her sophomore outing. This book did not disappoint. Ms. Klein navigates the storylines of pregnancy, motherhood and adolescence impeccably. At times I cried with her. Other times I was angry at her. In the end I learned more about myself from reading this memoir than just hearing about an experience at a camp for fat kids. I recommend this book.

In her second memoir, Stephanie Klein attempts to get to the root of the lifelong battle that has been her weight. At the age of eight she went on her first diet with the help of a local diet doctor in her Long Island hometown. At age 13 she attended Camp Yanisin, a summer camp specializing in helping young adolescents lose weight. Arriving at the camp nestled in the mountains of Massachusetts, Klein is already a weight-loss pro, a self-proclaimed "fat camp champ." She knows all the fads and the tricks, and is determined to shed her schoolyard moniker of "Moose."

But MOOSE is not just about the author's struggle with her weight. It's also a treatise on pubescent awareness, self-esteem, and in Klein's case, a slightly precocious interest in sexuality, earning her the nickname "Porno Queen." She devotes much of her time conjuring up excuses to visit the boys' bunk rather than focusing on her health and quickly spots a hazardous pattern in her behavior: "Eventually, I'd give in, realizing I'd not only pleasured my way through the cranberry-walnut pie, but I'd inhaled the whole of our kitchen. It seems I didn't just do this with food, I did it with boys. I Crosby, Stills, and Nashed my way though adolescence and loved all the ones I was with. If I couldn't be with Adam, I'd be with everyone else." If she couldn't satisfy the hunger within with food, she'd try boys.

Klein deals with family issues, like the distant, sometimes strained relationship with her strict father and remote mother, and her never-ending search for approval, acceptance and success, and how she thinks that she would've gained all of these if only she had lost the weight: "You're either likable or you're not. And some people just give you more chances if you were thin. Because after all, it was just as I'd imagined all along: thin could wear red and be a bitch and people would still like her."

As an adult struggling with the difficult labor and delivery of premature twins, Klein attempts to leave her food worries behind her once and for all, not just for her own health but to be an example for her newborn son and daughter. But through caustic wit and humor, she admits that the years of counting calories have not taught her much in the way of wisdom. She continues to struggle with food and probably always will: "I haven't conquered any battles with food, with the bulge, or within myself. I still fight with my weight. Sometimes it fights back. It was messy when I was younger, and it continues to be. I can recite positive affirmations, trying to convince myself I'm no longer Moose."

Through her humor and self-effacing charm, Klein imparts her struggles in a completely relatable way. Who hasn't struggled with self-esteem, especially as a teenager? Who hasn't thought of elaborate "I'll show them!" scenarios? The author is painfully honest (sometimes excruciatingly so) about her issues and opinions, and lays bare her behavior without apology. A person's foibles, for better or worse, don't define that person, but they do help build a certain character.

Given the chance to go back and edit anything, Klein begs off: "That's the thing about being a former fat camp champ; when asked if I'd change my past if I could, I think for a moment and always answer no. the pain in being an overweight kid, the humiliation, makes you think twice before ever cutting anyone else down. There's something almost perfect in the ugly duckling syndrome. Something just. Something that just makes it mildly worth it. Because a sensitivity is tattooed on a part of you no one else can see but they can somehow guess is there. It's always with you. A scar maybe, some hurt that really does make you better."

Stephanie Klein is no longer known as "Moose," but it's safe to say that the memory of that painful time, as well as the lessons she gleaned, will be with her forever.

--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

As a psychotherapist I read Moose expecting it to be helpful in understanding some of my clients who were heavy during adolescence and still carry the stigma, fighting inappropriate eating daily. It was so much more. The story is intersting and at times funny. It captures the feelings of being an adolescent who is awkward and a little different; someone who is not in the popular group. Klein does a great job of decribing her parents reaction to her weight issue and their subtle messages as well as direct and great advice. It is well-written, descriptive and openly describes the emotions of most adolescents.

Stephanie Klein is me, but she's also every other fat kid who ever walked the planet. In "Moose: a Memoir of Fat Camp," Klein so adeptly paints the myriad emotions the overweight adolescent experiences that I found myself not only shaking my head in agreement but also revisiting feelings I thought I'd long left behind when I finally shed the excess pounds. Whether you ultimately beat the battle of the bulge like Klein and me or you still struggle with your weight, you'll recognize yourself in page after page of "Moose." And even if you were never fat, you just might find yourself there as well, as the "have-to-have" best friend, the "want but can't have" object of affection, or the fat kid torturer.

In fact, I dare you NOT to see yourself somewhere in this passage (pages 174-175): "The pain of being an overweight kid, the humiliation, makes you think twice before ever cutting anyone else down. There's something almost perfect in the ugly duckling syndrome. Something just. Something that just makes it mildly worth it. Because a sensitivity is tattooed on a part of you no one else can see but they can somehow guess is there. It's always with you. A scar maybe, some hurt that really does make you better. And you feel a sense of superiority, not for winning some supposed battle against all your bulges, but because you'll never be insensitive, or cruel. You know what it is to experience the pain of being chastised and therefore feel superior, morally composed, with an enduring, hearty even, robust sense of character. You think that because you've overcome, you'll always rise to defend the underdog. You've already lived through rejection and loneliness. At the age of thirteen you've felt it profoundly and won't ever be malicious and will always remember that you somehow made it out okay."

Poignant, so realistically so that at times it's painful to read, "Moose" is keenly insightful and utterly relatable.

If you feel like ANY of the things you have ever done to lose weight--or to feel better about your body--are at all messed up, then you have simply got to read Stephanie Klein's Moose. I just finished it a few weeks ago, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it it might be one of the best books I've ever read.

It's definitely one of the most important.

Moose is a memoir about Klein's experience growing up "fat" and being shipped off to fat camp by her somewhat unsympathetic parents.

I put the word "fat" in quotation marks because, as I mentioned in my "Fat is off the list" blog post, I don't think that word is productive, but also because Klein was never really fat.

Chubby, yes. But not fat.

If you don't believe me, see the pictures on my blog that prove it. . . [...]
Though the book doesn't exactly chronicle how Klein finally kicks the fat habit, it does beautifully narrate her horrific experiences trying to lose weight any way she could while growing up in a world that does not accept people who struggle with weight. Ironically, when Klein goes to fat camp, she is one of the thinnest people there, and as a result, becomes popular and sought-after. As it turns out, even at fat camp, skinny wins.

But what's so moving about this book is that Klein goes through what we all--fat or not--went through when we were young: feeling unattractive, struggling to fit in, and just wanting to be normal.

Sadly, Klein's parents offer little understanding of her situation. At one point, the whole family goes to a "pay what you weigh" dinner, and when Klein refuses to get on the scale, rather than empathize, they tell her that the whole world is prejudiced against fat people and that she'll be much happier if she loses weight.

Ouch.

It's to Klein's credit that she doesn't shy away from painting her mother and father as imperfect--if ultimately loving--parents.

As a result, it's hard not to be completely moved by how challenging it is for Klein to experience adolescence with an extra thirty pounds to lug around and parents who are pushing her to eat lighter fare while scooping out the scalloped potatoes for themselves. And this is why you can't help but walk away from the book with a better understanding of the fact that your own adolescence--no matter how awkward--wasn't that bad by comparison. This is because when young Stephanie suffers from the taunts of her peers or--worse yet--her parents and teachers (one of whom insists she admit she's "gorda"--or fat--in Spanish class), so do you, and the book is obviously better for it.

This is a must-read for any woman who has ever struggled with weight or body issues.

In other words, it's a must-read for all of us.

Less than a page into "Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp," I knew I had discovered a new favorite writer "voice." Author Stephanie Klein is hysterical - she writes with a self-depricating, slightly baudy humor that really reeled me in. The story -- a composite of Klein's own teen experiences at five years worth of fat camps -- may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I wasn't an overweight kid, but I was a camper, and Klein's recounting of "chunky dunking", sneaking out after lights out to visit the boys camp, prank raids and other summer camp milestones are pretty universal.

However, readers should know that there are some meaty issues tackled here, too. Klein dabbles in bulemia to control her weight, and is taught by another teen exactly how to make herself throw up. (I found that part especially cringe-worthy.) She encounters a lot of cruelty from her peers and even from her parents. And as a grown-up, now-thin pregnant mom, Klein still struggles with her weight -- although now, she struggles to allow herself to gain the weight she needs to for her babies without guilt about getting fat.

Many of us have weight issues -- whether they're in our heads, or on our bodies. I think "Moose" is a great read, but it's not exactly a triumphant story of a fat girl that got thin and lived Happily Ever After. Of course, if you're looking for a story like that, there's lots of great chick lit out there that should fit the bill

Standing at her locker at school Stephanie Klein first ears the taunting calls of "Moose, Moose" from boys in the halls at school. Living with a mother who is continually accessing her own body and making comments about Stephanie's body, a father who often reminds her that "boys don't like fat girls" (sometimes other comments inappropriate from a father) and the taunts and whispers of classmates, Stephanie knows she is fat.

Stephanie Klein is the latest author to enter the ring of weight memoirs. Focusing on her summers spent at "fat camp' Klein ruefully recalls the social minefields of growing up as a fat girl. Ironically, when she first comes to fat camp she finds herself in an envious position, she is one of the smallest campers. Within the safety of camp she begins to develop socially and also develops some dangerous ways to try to control her weight. She also has to navigate the confusing world of camp, where others girls her size and larger struggle as she does Told with a great deal of wry asides (which seems to be a defensive method to keep others at arms' length) and almost manic in her determination to make the joke at her own expense before someone else does, Moose is a bittersweet coming of age story. Klein intertwines present day with past memories and the reader realizes the burden the author still struggles under, whether fat or thin, healthy or fit, that "big girl" still has a home inside Klein, and wants to be heard.

I related to so much of the humiliation that Stephanie writes about - being teased, getting back-stabbed (or black-mailed) by those who you thought were your friends and the shock and confusion that goes along with that. If more people were this real in life, I think we'd all feel less alone and more compassionate towards one another. I related a lot to the time-line based on the music and trends that she writes about. I LOVED THAT! It made me think of things that I hadn't thought about in a long time; things that I'd completely forgotten about. This is a must read for every woman, no matter her age. I think that a young adult would really gain insight and widsom from this book. I think it's brave that she writes so openly about her relationship with her parents while growing up. I think that's an important part of this book as well as the fact that she is just so damn real that you can't help but to instantly connect.