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Rating: 
Summary: Superficial and repetitive
Review: A complex topic (fatness and size acceptance) is presented with a one-sided perspective, and worse, the book is boring. While some of these "facts" might be new to a few readers, mostly this is a rehashing of old data combined with her qualitative research and personal experiences. Every chapter ends with tips, and they all sound very similar. The chapter on the spiral of acceptance sounds very similar to the Stages of Change presented in the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, but her suggestions for how to go through the processes are, again, very simplistic. The idea that some weight loss for health can be appropriate is an anathema in this book. Maybe an o.k. introduction, but if you are the least bit familiar with size acceptance, read elsewhere. (The best part of the book is it's cover.)
Rating: 
Summary: Get real
Review: I read this book very slowly over the course of a year. I'd put it down from time to time because the ideas it contained were so radical that it took me a long time to absorb them. This book has had a major and lasting impact on my life and on my relationship with my body. It started me on my own spiral of acceptance and introduced me to a whole new way of thinking about my body, about food, about exercise, about my place in the world. I highly recommend this book to any woman who has ever hated her body. The ideas in this book will bring peace, enlightenment, and healing. I wish you a joyful journey.
--Mary Ray Worley
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not the best of its kind
Review: In a culture that daily screams the message to us that thin is in and fat is out, any book that challenges the prevailing cultural attitudes towards size and discrimination deserves praise. A book such as this requires both author and reader to put themselves out there, open their minds and prepare to be challenged, and I have the utmost respect for Cheri Erdman and the trials she has endured throughout her life which have enabled her to write this book. I fundamentally agree with everything she says: that we should stop dieting and regarding food as an enemy; that we should exercise for pleasure, not for the purpose of weight loss; that everyone, regardless of their size or shape, deserves love and respect; and that we shouldn't wait to be thin before we start enjoying life. Having said that, I give this book only three stars for two reasons. Firstly, I found it to be a bit repetitive, especially towards the end. A couple of times it was if she had made all the points she wanted to and had run out of things to say, so she said it all again, in almost exactly the same way. It loses a second star for the fact that, as brave as her story is, I feel I have read most of what she says before. There are now many books that deal with the topic of fat-acceptance and body image, several of them far more accessible and entertaining to read than this one. Writers such as Marilyn Wann (FAT!SO?), Kaz Cooke (Real Gorgeous) and Camryn Manheim (Wake Up, I'm Fat!) bring more personality to their work, and I would recommend them above this one. Nonetheless, if neither of my objections seem important to you, this is still a well-written, well-researched, informative and necessary book.
Rating:
Summary: Get real
Review: Thin is simply attractive due to the fact that what is scarce has more value. In a rich, prosperous, food-filled, modern society, food is not scarce, hence those who eat as though there were no tomorrow are seen as less attractive and unable to discipline themselves in terms of healthy diet and exercise. That more Americans are overweight in America is the problem in need of a book to cure, not a celebration of the rotund. I highly recommend Nancy Etcoff's "Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty" instead. Oh, and The Firm workout tapes are just fabulous.
Rating: 
Summary: Illinois reader needs to get a life!
Review: Yes, I'm speaking to you...You know who you are... First of all, what right do you have to tell anyone else what is and is not attractive? What right does anybody? And how dare you question the health, happiness, and wellbeing of another person when you don't even know the person? Why are you even wasting our time with a "review" of a book you obviously didn't read? Before I begin to let off more steam, let me take a deep cleansing breath and say: I pity you. Yes, Illinois Reader, I pity the fact that your ignorance and bigotry have not allowed you to find the beauty in people of ALL sizes. You will never know the comfort of true friendship and love, until you have learned to love and except the beauty within all of those around you, no matter what they look like. I also pity you because you obviously do not love yourself. Why else would someone with such an abhorrence of "the rotund" need to fulfill his (Or "her"? Nevermind, I really don't care) self-esteem by ATTEMPTING to sabotage the self-esteem of others? And finally, Illinois Reader, you should be pitied because you JUST DON'T GET IT! It's not about size or looks; it's about being happy with the person you are on the inside and the outside, and not allowing your judgement to be crippled by ignorant ... like yourself! To everyone else who reads this, I'd like to conclude by saying that if you were in any way offended by the previous review, then that should be all the motivation you need to buy this and other size-accepting books. I would also like to recommend "Survival of the Prettiest" and "The Firm" workout tape.....They make a lovely bonfire! ^_~
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