A review by andrea_heather
Stranger Here: How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed with My Head by Jen Larsen

2.0

This book triggered the fuck out of me. I'm glad it exists and I'm glad the author was so honest and open with her experience and feelings. But reading it knocked me down several pegs on my attempts to feel like a decent human being who also happens to be fat. The hyper focus on feeling observed and judged for appearance and weight, while viewed critically in the book, also managed to get into my head and cause some unfun drama. I thought this book was going to be a little more focused on the "fat can be ok" side rather than "everyone was so happy I lost weight and even though the surgery thing was fucked up I'm still glad I did it" side. And I am ambivalent about the author having those feelings. But I guess I'm more fragile than I thought when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world's opinions about fat people and value and shame and what matters.

I'm just venting a little and expressing some caution for other people who might be curious about this book but maybe on the fence about what to expose themselves to when it comes to issues about body image and fat and judgement. I am not judging the author for her experience or arguing that she should have done or written anything different. I'm not being critical of the book itself in terms of quality or content or whatever. (I couldn't put it down when reading!) I just got tossed down an unfortunate rabbit hole due to my own personal circumstance and wanted to react to that and warn others who might be in a similar state of mind.