How To Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life: Reluctant Confessions of a Big-Butted Star (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Little did I know when I plotted to become a modern-day "Donna Reed," that I was in fact plotting the prelude to my own physical..." (more)
Key Phrases: Kirstie Lou, New York, Animal House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The increasing girth of Kirstie Alley's rear end has figured prominently (pun intended) on many a tabloid cover in recent years. At the peak of her career ("Cheers"), of course, her butt was indeed at its smallest. It's no surprise that she therefore sums up her life philosophy this way: one's level of happiness tends to be inversely proportional to the size of one's posterior.

With extremely salty language on par with what you might hear in a 50 Cent song, Alley has penned a self-deprecating Hollywood tell-all in the disguise of "note-to-self"-style diary entries. With many apologies to Bridget Jones, we learn that Alley is a former cocaine addict who once participated in the snorting of a six-foot-long trail of powder at a party. (She's says she's currently a Scientologist and credits L. Ron Hubbard with curing her of her narcotic addiction, as well as her issues with food.) We also learn--for better or worse--that she has the hots for John Travolta, Kid Rock, and Ben Affleck, and that she blames her weight gain for a super-extended period of unplanned celibacy.

As crass as she is (she kisses and tells, even including the sordid details of her losing her virginity in the front seat of a Chevy Impala), it's hard not to feel sympathetic for Alley. She admits that following a miscarriage in her third month of pregnancy and subsequent diagnosis of infertility—which were also broadcast in the tabloids--her weight started ballooning. And as much as she dishes about Hollywood actors such as Tim Matheson (of Animal House fame), she has the decency to leave Parker Stevenson, her ex-husband and father of their two adopted children, out of the gossiping. Even so, overall, this feels like a strangely extended endorsement of Dianetics. --Erica Jorgensen

Product Description

If anyone in Hollywood knows about weight obsession, it's Kirstie Alley. After she rose to fame on Cheers as the svelte and gorgeous Rebecca Howe, she watched as the tabloids mercilessly charted her fluctuating weight. Well, look out, Hollywood, because this beloved star is ready to strike back-with a starring role in a new, unscripted com-edy series on Showtime called Fat Actress. She plays a fictionalized version of herself as she searches for work and love in the land of glitter and glamour. The show, which prompted a huge media buzz when Showtime announced plans for it, premieres just as this witty and wry new book hits bookstores across the nation.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (March 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159486232X
• ISBN-13: 978-1594862328
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #743,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentle Giggles and Some Heart Felt Sighs, March 21, 2005

By	M. E. Wood "http://largeandlovely.bellaonline... (Canada) - See all my reviews

There's all this talk going back and forth about Kirstie Alley right now. Whether she's a positive or negative influence for large women depends on the group or individual. Despite her weight, she is the 'it girl' of the moment. She's also just another woman trying to make it through life the best she can. She just happens to be using her butt to do it instead of her breasts.

"How to Lose your Ass..." is not a how-to book as the name suggests but a diary-biography. Each chapter opens with a few excerpts from Kirstie's diary followed by a vignette. Diary entries begin on December 31st, 2003 and end January 1st 2005. A year and a day. There aren't a lot of entries; about 63 ranging from a few lines to a few paragraphs. There's a mix up with dates on two entries that appear on the book flap and then again inside. This is not a tell-all book, just some exciting and sentimental tidbits, a few juicy parts. Each chapter reads like a complete story.

Kirstie talks about sex with Tim Matheson (and a few other people), how she first learned about scientology, the secret behind the name Kirstie, her life long self esteem issues, and her assassin Corgi. Doing coke, decorating houses, lying to friends, family and to herself, and bringing 'Fat Actress' to fruition are all open to discussion. She talks about her daughter Lillie and son True and their issues with weight, hers and their own; the personal tragedy that led her to gain weight and the revelation and emotional release she witnessed with Dianetics. How she secretly blames John Travolta for everything, the death of her mother, and one of my favourite topics...airplane seats are all mentioned. The last chapter is the best of funny. I can't tell you why or the title because it would ruin it for you. Let's just say it's something everyone can relate to and leave it at that.

Be prepared for some swearing and other vulgar analogies. She doesn't go overboard with them but they are present and may offend the delicate of mind. There's the occasional mention of her first marriage but not a lot about the who, when, what and how of it. There are lots of black and white photos from her childhood, a few of her children and of her beautiful parents. I would have liked more current photos of Kirstie included. Not embarrassing one that certain media like to focus on but something to bring the reader to the present.

With Alley's book you are sure to experience some gentle giggles and some heart felt sighs. Her warm sensibility and mild sarcastic tone are reminiscent to a chat with an old friend. [How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life] was an enjoyable look into one of Hollywood's foxiest women. I'd definitely read another book by Alley. There is still much to be learned about this stunning actress.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, March 7, 2005

By	Stephanie/TX - See all my reviews

I loved her when she was thin and I loved her when she was fat. No matter how you look at Kirstie Alley, you will get the genuine article. No plastic Barbie doll here.

Kirstie writes from her life in such an engaging way, I could really relate. I love the formatting she used. The diary notation at the top to set the stage for what came next. This is a real person! She is funny, poignant and down home. A great read that will leaving you laughing in some parts and shaking your head in agreement all the way through.

(I preordered the book as soon as I read about it in the Good Housekeeping article about Kirstie.)

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hilarious hunka love, March 8, 2005

By	Fox in a Box (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Kirstie Alley's journey through public life has been joyous, celebratory and sometimes rough. Anyone who has opened a series of tabloids to see her own expanding butt featured as the centerfold deserves an air kiss, a hot fudge sundae and an AK-47 loaded for bear.

Alley also deserves respect, however, for her work (very, very funny), her honesty and her willingness to plop her expanded arse down on the sofa next to you and tell it like it is. Yowza! What a relief! What a hoot! Wotta broad!