I'm Not the New Me

It's about time we had a memoir on this site, right? I'm Not the New Me has been billed as a book about Wendy McClure's journey to lose weight, and it is, sort of. It's also about life, relationships, getting by, and the random observations that make it worth getting up in the morning. I started reading Wendy's website (which was actually the basis for the book) a couple of years ago, and I can't say enough good things. She's funny, irreverent, honest, and brave enough to put her whole life on display.
Anyway, the book. INTNM chronicles Wendy's life from the realization that she's "fat" (from looking at pictures of herself doing karaoke), to the decision to join Weight Watchers, and follows from there. She starts her website as an online journal to help track her weight-loss progress, not knowing who--if anyone--will read. She ends up forming a whole network of virtual friends (Inglenook, anyone?) that gives her support through all of her adventures.
So much about this book resonated with me. Body image issues, check. Relationship struggles, check. Life as a single person in Chicago, check (yes, I can still remember those days!). One of the great things about this
book is that her thoughts, her observations--they could be mine. There's such a ring of familiarity, so many things I've thought or wished or done. There's something to be said for branching outside one's comfort zone for reading, but for me, I'd rather read something I can really relate to, and this book is about as good (and fun) as it gets in that regard.
Oh, and one of the best parts of the book is that she includes a center section of full-color 1974 Weight Watchers recipe cards. They're beyond awful. Some of them are downright gruesome. McClure's commentary on the recipes really completes them. In fact, her second book, The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan, is entirely WW cards with commentary.