Hey! I apparently wrote a review of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir
Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir Review
Even if I’m not like someone in very many ways, I still generally find out we have similar thoughts or experiences. A lot of the time it’s because of weight issues we’ve dealt with during our life. It’s the fat bond. I love reading weight loss stories because it reminds me i’m not alone, even though in real life I mostly have been.
Half-Assed is a weight loss memoir from Jennette Fulda, who blogs at Pasta Queen where the tagline is “You’ll laugh your ass off. (I did.)” I’ve met Jennette at a few conferences and she truly is a lovely and funny person. Her book is the condensed and put-in-order-for-book-form version of her weight loss that she chronicled on her blog. She started at 372 pounds and eventually succeeded in losing half of her body weight.
My favorite parts:
I really connected with Jennette’s comments on the fat acceptance movement. Like her, I was pretty much rejected from being part of it, because despite liking my body I wanted to lose weight. Sure my main reasons might have been because I wasn’t healthy and I couldn’t get health insurance, but that didn’t matter. I found her thoughts on that subject interesting and really nice to know I wasn’t alone in that.
“You are who you are no matter what the size.” I loved this quote because it’s soo true!
“I was still the same person, I was just starting to share myself with the world.” Another favorite quote and part of the story for me.
And of course there were tons of funny moments that I loved but this is a book review and I can’t list them all. ;)
Thoughts:
It’s nothing ground breaking if you’ve read weight loss blogs for any length of time. Her stories and realizations are the same one we have all made. Her story is not special except that it’s in book form and follows the story from beginning to end in a very concise way whereas blogs ramble and flow.
However, it is quite an entertaining read. Jeanette is a legitimately funny writer, unlike some bloggers who think they are funny but just fall short. Her stories made me laugh out loud several times while reading, which is quite a nice thing to have happen when you are reading a book about a topic that could have turned into one big sob story.
Also, we share the philosophy that you will succeed if you think you are worth the effort/care about yourself. I loved that theme in her book and the fact that taking care of herself was something that helped her achieve her weight loss goals. It really is important to care about yourself rather than doing things based off of hate or dislike.
So overall I liked the book. It was funny and touching and a wonderful memoir that anyone who has struggled with weight could connect to on some level.
I recommend you check it out if you would like to read a very funny and wonderful weight loss memoir. (And if you do it through my links I’ll get like 5 whole pennies from Amazon!)
Have you read Half-Assed? What did you think?
I enjoyed reading your review. Your statement that “it’s nothing groundbreaking” is so true regarding this book as well as most of the information we find out there. The answers are really inside of us and not outside of us.
Had not heard of this book but like you said, putting the “standard info” in a fun way to read makes all the difference. Sometimes it takes that to get thru to certain people.
I loved Half-Assed. Half of Me was one of the first blogs I read and I jumped at the chance to get an autographed copy of Jennette’s book way back in 2008. You can see my review at http://finallyfiguringitout.blogspot.com/2008/05/half-assed-review.html
I liked it a lot too! It was a great book and I could really relate to it.
Haven’t read this book yet but I keep hearing great things about it.
It’s so easy to write things and then forget about them – too much to do and not enough hours in the day to stay organized!
Never even heard of the book but looks interesting and worth looking into.
I read the book months back, and got her to autograph my copy at Fitbloggin, so WooT for that. I thought it was a great read as well :)
I think Jeanette is a terrific writer and very funny. What struck me is how really pedestrian her life was (I don’t mean that in any bad way! …but job that bored her, etc.), and yet how extraordinary her weight loss was. It’s the opposite of all the celebrity weight loss stories out there – which made it that much more helpful to me. I reviewed it, too. http://www.poundsoffplayoff.com/2010/04/my-half-assed-review.html
I LOVE this book. It somehow changed me. That’s a big statement, but it and dietgirl started me on a journey that HAS forever changed me.
i thought the book was okay. the part that bothered me was how negative her attitude seems to be. however, i did pull some motivation from the book, so that’s good, but i have not recommended it to any of my friends. i do agree with what you said about there being nothing ground breaking, however i know a lot of people don’t get into the weight loss community of blogs, so the book is perfect for those people.
I never hear about this book before but I would like to read it.