Reviews
Stranger Here: How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed with My Head by Jen Larsen
brontherun's review against another edition
4.0
I am not sure how wide the audience is for this book, but as a raw and open excavation of ones relationship with food and weight, Larsen is great.
She peels back layer after layer of psychology and emotions that wrap so many of us up in our bodies. The struggle of body, self-identify, weight, and food is handled with honesty and bravery. I could feel her terror, anxiousness, and hope sweating through the pages.
She peels back layer after layer of psychology and emotions that wrap so many of us up in our bodies. The struggle of body, self-identify, weight, and food is handled with honesty and bravery. I could feel her terror, anxiousness, and hope sweating through the pages.
sunshine169's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book because I wanted to get a glimpse into the mind of someone who had weight loss surgery. What I found was reconfirmation that I do not want to put myself through such a trauma.
Weight loss surgery does not solve all your problems. You will lose all the weight (and put some back on) but you will still have body image issues and a poor relationship with food if you don't try to understand how to eat properly... I am no expert here my relationship with food is terrible but I am working on it.
Weight loss surgery can cause you to develop problems that you never had before such as Jen's dumping experience before a job interview. Not to mention the slew of problems I have seen my family go through after there surgeries.
I hate how losing weight is praised. How having a fat body is frowned upon. How all of a sudden she was thin and everyone could not stop telling her how beautiful she is. However, I do appreciate how she confesses that she regrets not living life to the fullest as a fat person. I also appreciate the resources she provides at the end of the book.
Conclusion... I still refuse WLS but I don't deny people's right to have it. The doctors in this book clearly just wanted her money. I mean they gave her a list of their doctors to go to that would approve her all the way through until surgery day. The diet and weight loss industry make me sad and angry. People who shame larger bodies make me sad and angry.
Anyone else want to know what the heck was Andy's problem?
Weight loss surgery does not solve all your problems. You will lose all the weight (and put some back on) but you will still have body image issues and a poor relationship with food if you don't try to understand how to eat properly... I am no expert here my relationship with food is terrible but I am working on it.
Weight loss surgery can cause you to develop problems that you never had before such as Jen's dumping experience before a job interview. Not to mention the slew of problems I have seen my family go through after there surgeries.
I hate how losing weight is praised. How having a fat body is frowned upon. How all of a sudden she was thin and everyone could not stop telling her how beautiful she is. However, I do appreciate how she confesses that she regrets not living life to the fullest as a fat person. I also appreciate the resources she provides at the end of the book.
Conclusion... I still refuse WLS but I don't deny people's right to have it. The doctors in this book clearly just wanted her money. I mean they gave her a list of their doctors to go to that would approve her all the way through until surgery day. The diet and weight loss industry make me sad and angry. People who shame larger bodies make me sad and angry.
Anyone else want to know what the heck was Andy's problem?
brinastewart's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book. Though I did not have weight loss surgery to lose my weight, she puts into words the things being overweight and even after weight loss that I have thought myself and experienced. If you know me and ever want to know, read this book.
I still struggle everyday with the thoughts and ideas that growing up overweight then losing will have affect on the mind and thought process.
I still struggle everyday with the thoughts and ideas that growing up overweight then losing will have affect on the mind and thought process.
hmonkeyreads's review against another edition
4.0
I read this because a friend gave it a rave review. It's not something I would have picked up on my own and to be honest, I expected to be annoyed by it. Instead, I found that I couldn't put it down and I hope that Jen Larsen writes more books for me to read!
It's a simple book describing her decision to have weight loss surgery and then the adjustment period afterwards but it's really about insecurity and finding a way to be comfortable and happy with yourself when you are not perfect and the world you live in isn't perfect either.
It's a simple book describing her decision to have weight loss surgery and then the adjustment period afterwards but it's really about insecurity and finding a way to be comfortable and happy with yourself when you are not perfect and the world you live in isn't perfect either.
sarahjanet's review against another edition
5.0
I might be biased because she is my friend, but this book was really, really good.
mhall's review against another edition
3.0
EDIT: I read this book in a single day. It reminds me of [b:I'm Not the New Me|131467|I'm Not the New Me|Wendy McClure|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309211085s/131467.jpg|126614] by Wendy McClure.
Jen Larsen has written a memoir about what it was like to have weight loss surgery and lose a great deal of weight. In her early 30s and living in San Francisco, she was aware of the Fat Acceptance and Health at Every Size movement (and the back of the book lists some resources on those topics), but she seems to have felt kind of helpless to incorporate their ideas into her own life - and I can understand the attitude, like, good for them but that would never work for ME because I am awful and could never have confidence or self-esteem, etc. When she starts researching surgery, she kind of knows that she's glossing over the reality of what having major surgery is like, in favor of looking at before and after pictures and fantasizing about how her life will change into perfection after she loses a bunch of weight. She's obsessed, and she goes ahead with the surgery.
And despite not being able to stay with the restricted diet that prevents too much malabsorption of vitamins, despite still smoking and drinking alcohol, she escapes major complications and loses over 100 pounds in a year. So that's the story. And it was interesting to read, but some elements were so frustratingly unfinished in the book:
I don't know if this is a blog-to-book or not, but I suspect it might be. It reads like it is.
Jen Larsen has written a memoir about what it was like to have weight loss surgery and lose a great deal of weight. In her early 30s and living in San Francisco, she was aware of the Fat Acceptance and Health at Every Size movement (and the back of the book lists some resources on those topics), but she seems to have felt kind of helpless to incorporate their ideas into her own life - and I can understand the attitude, like, good for them but that would never work for ME because I am awful and could never have confidence or self-esteem, etc. When she starts researching surgery, she kind of knows that she's glossing over the reality of what having major surgery is like, in favor of looking at before and after pictures and fantasizing about how her life will change into perfection after she loses a bunch of weight. She's obsessed, and she goes ahead with the surgery.
And despite not being able to stay with the restricted diet that prevents too much malabsorption of vitamins, despite still smoking and drinking alcohol, she escapes major complications and loses over 100 pounds in a year. So that's the story. And it was interesting to read, but some elements were so frustratingly unfinished in the book:
Spoiler
really, what was wrong with her boyfriend? I kept waiting for the revelation I felt was coming: he was cheating, or he had lost his job months ago, or just something about what his problem really was. Why did his hands keep shaking?? And did she ever go to any of the support groups or keep up with the weight loss surgery message boards described in the beginning?I don't know if this is a blog-to-book or not, but I suspect it might be. It reads like it is.
krisis86's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure what I expected from this book. My mom had weight loss surgery and I was looking forward into getting some insights into how your brain changes after you go through the surgery (because she went from being a calm, laid-back person into being a demanding type-A personality.)
Instead, the book is filled with lots of moping and whining about being overweight and being scared of the surgery and not having money. It may have been brutally honest, but it wasn't hilarious. And it just wasn't what I was expecting or looking for.
Instead, the book is filled with lots of moping and whining about being overweight and being scared of the surgery and not having money. It may have been brutally honest, but it wasn't hilarious. And it just wasn't what I was expecting or looking for.
jesabesblog's review against another edition
4.0
Jen Larsen has the kind of writing style where you get it. She can make you understand what something was like in a way I'll never be able. I read the book in 24 hours because it was just GOOD.
As promised, it was very honest and, in a way, comprehensive, but it left me with so many questions. The end point seemed random (I guess I'll just stop writing now...) and loose ends didn't get neatly tied. Which, yeah, this is real life, not fiction, so perhaps you don't always get neatly tied bows. But I was hoping for some...closure, I guess.
As promised, it was very honest and, in a way, comprehensive, but it left me with so many questions. The end point seemed random (I guess I'll just stop writing now...) and loose ends didn't get neatly tied. Which, yeah, this is real life, not fiction, so perhaps you don't always get neatly tied bows. But I was hoping for some...closure, I guess.