She's Come Undone

Dolores Price is one of the most honest, funny, and irresistible narrators I’ve ever encountered, and the story of her coming of age grabbed me by the heart and didn’t let go until the very last page. I found the trauma she suffers to be highly relatable, and her way of plowing through it is both admirable and heartbreaking.

I’ve read this book at least three times over the last several years, and each time, it has made me cry harder than any other book I’ve read. For me, each time I’ve read this book, it’s been an amazing, cathartic… show more.

Published more than 30 years ago, in 1992, this book is a long-time favorite of mine, the first that I can remember reading that had a fat protagonist.

I do wish, however, that the main character, Dolores Price, did not have to lose weight as part of her story. I suppose we, as a society, were all in agreement at the time that the fat version of her could not have achieved any lasting satisfaction.

This novel is a coming-of-age story about a fierce woman who fights long and hard, makes many mistakes, and succeeds in building a life worthy… show more.

The most amazing aspect of this novel is that it’s written by a dude named Wally who presents as a man but clearly knows what goes on in a woman’s head—and body. Not an easy feat for a lot of writers. Take Hemmingway—he knew as much about women as Mars knows about Venus. Nearly every facet of the protagonist Dolores Price’s life from the age of four to forty is spot on. Perhaps I personally mesh with this novel because I too came of age in the late 60s to early 70s, which was an especially wacky and challenging time… show more.

Dolores is unlike any other character I’ve read before. Her humorously unapologetic nature is refreshing. I loved how true she was, yet also how she really didn’t have a strong sense of self. Dolores’s desire and need to be equal as well as have someone she can finally trust in her life is something we can all relate to. This story is honest and gripping and represents the importance of embracing life even if it doesn’t go according to plan.

This is an unforgettable heroine who’s addicted to food. We follow her through her adolescence to womanhood; struggling to untether herself from pain. Heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time: my favorite mix. It also tackles food addiction, which is often overlooked in fiction despite the fact that it’s likely the most relatable one of all.