Synopses & Reviews
A poignant, funny, and, above all, honest look at obesity from the inside out. Is it the goal of life to be thin? Or to be happy? In this inspiring story, those two elusive goals become one, as a fat man learns acceptance, loses the guilt, and gains the wisdom to manage his weight.
You can hardly pick up a magazine or turn on the TV today without encountering a torrent of talk on weight. But all too rarely do we hear from overweight people themselves--especially men--about how life feels inside the body of a fat person. Mike Berman shares that story in this hopeful and uplifting memoir.
A self-proclaimed "fat man" who is also a happy man--successful in his career, marriage, and friendships--Berman has earned his insight and peace of mind through decades of personal struggle. In Living Large, this well-known political activist and Washington lobbyist never shies away from the pain and daunting challenges of being seriously overweight. But Berman has an important message that he wants to be heard: Fatness is not a moral failing, but a disease; and once it is accepted as such, it can be successfully managed.
Laurence Shames, author of Not Fade Away, has tackled this important story and captured Mike Berman's voice as movingly as he did the late Peter Barton's in that beloved, critically acclaimed memoir.
Review
"Michael Berman's story of life in the throes of food and weight obsessions is, by turns, eloquent, heartbreaking, funny, and poignant."--Nadine Taylor, MS, RD, coauthor of Runaway Eating
Synopsis
"A searingly honest and compelling account of one man's lifelong struggle with an addiction to food. Michael Berman's insightful guide to living a 'large' and happy life will be meaningful to all readers, large and small."--Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
Is it the goal of life to be thin? Or to be happy? In this funny, unflinchingly honest look at obesity from the inside out, these two elusive goals become one, as a self-proclaimed fat man learns acceptance, loses the guilt, and gains the wisdom to manage his weight. In Living Large, Michael Berman, a well-known political activist and Washington lobbyist, doesn't shy away from revealing the pain and daunting challenges of being seriously overweight. And yet he has much to share that is truly inspirational. Mike's powerful--and rarely heard--male perspective is complemented by his wife's views on how weight issues affect women who love big men.
About the Author
MICHAEL S. BERMAN is an attorney, lobbyist, and president of the Duberstein Group, a leading Washington, DC, consulting firm. Mike's Web site--www.mikelivinglarge.com--has continued to chart his ups and downs, as he posts his weight on the first day of each month, along with an indication of what's going on in his life--whether a political convention or a personal crisis--that may be affecting his weight gain or loss.
LAURENCE SHAMES is the author (with the late Peter Barton) of Not Fade Away: A Short Life Well Lived. He was the writer of the New York Times bestsellers Boss of Bosses and Amerika. Formerly the "Ethics" columnist for Esquire, Shames lives in Ojai, California.