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.
posted by Holli | 7:32 PM
3 Comments:
So weird: I just reserved this book at the library after running into the website when I googled "weight watchers oak park." Never heard of it before, now it's popping up in multiple places!
So I grabbed this book and it was an easy read. In fact, I read the 300 page book in one sitting. The title states, "memoir," and that's what this book is: not a book about how to lose weight or even particularly a weight loss journey. "If you really want to lose weight, read this book," as the back cover states, is pretty out of context. Wendy, the author, talks about going to Weight Watchers and hitting the gym, but is in no way a motivational speaker. Her weight loss seems almost magical, because occasionally she alludes to eating salads, and that's about all she talks about dieting. She doesn't give prescriptions for what to eat or how to exercise, or even talk about precisely what she does to lose weight. She does talk about her mother's struggle with food and her own resulting struggles. Wendy has a strong sense of self, and although she talks about feelings of worthlessness with her shrink, you get the feeling that she's really a strong person and will pull through whatever mental crisis she might be having. Reading this book was a delicious act of voyerism for me. First of all, Wendy is an interesting, articulate, funny person who I would want to be my friend. I love the gossipy feel of parts of the book. Secondly, she grew up in Oak Park and now lives in Chicago, so many of the places she talks about resonate with me. I totally feel like I could run into her and become friends. Which is, of course, what all the people reading her blog probably think. That's something else Wendy talks about - keeping a handle on reality when you're tooling around cyberspace. Wendy met a number of people in person that she met online, and found that as much as some people found her life to be a "story," she also had to meet people in flesh and blood to ground them to the real world. I related to Wendy's world of just wanting to be able to shop in the regular stores, not a plus-sized store. I related to her use of profanity; I have a similar flippant, wry sense of humor. I think about publishing my own diet blog, and think, geez, how boring would that be. And hell no, I'm not publishing my weight. After all, I've been trying to convince myself that the world hasn't noticed I'm fat. But Wendy takes a topic like weight loss and interweaves it with the rest of her life story, and it is not at all boring. I think that is a major lesson of the book: Wendy McClure is not a one-dimensional person all-consumed with her weight. She also has a life.
Well this sounds wonderful. As another fat gal, Oak Parker, etc., I'm intriqued. I'll reserve the next copy at the Oak Park Library, too! (Maze branch, thank you!)
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