My readings: Losing It, by Laura Fraser

Lately, I've been re-reading my self-acceptance books, fat-positive blogs, etc. One of my favorite books in the genre is Losing It, by Laura Fraser.

Published in 1997, it debunks the myths of diets and "obesity treatments" such as weight-loss surgery. Written like a book-length magazine article, it is a compelling and very informative essay. It's not a fat acceptance book per se, but the debunking of the diet industry is still an eye-opener.

Unfortunately, this book is out of print. Since a decade has gone by since its publication, I wish that a new edition of this book would be published (although, the more things change, the more they're the same -- witness the resurgence of the Atkins diet after Losing It was published). I'd sure be interested in reading her take on these unfortunate stories of children being taken from their parents for being fat (or other fat kids getting WLS).

There are copies of the book sold by third party sellers on Amazon, so if you can't find a copy at your local bookstore or library, that's always a possible route to take. You can read an excerpt from the book on that same Amazon page.