The most recommended books about being overweight

This book follows the lives of three friends, Emerson, Georgia, and Marley, who first met at fat camp as teenagers. Back then, they made a list of all the things they would do when they were skinny.

The novel opens with the tragic death of Emerson, who gives her friends a copy of the list and asks that they complete all the items.

As Georgia and Marley work to fulfill their friend’s dying wish, they must confront the loss and emptiness in their own lives, believe in their own worth, and beat back their detractors – quite literally in one empowering physical altercation in a bar. The characters in this book are complex, easy to love, and hard to forget.

A box or two of tissues is definitely recommended for this read.

Dionne digs deep on what exactly one means by “surveillance and control” levied at fat women (especially where “health” is concerned, or rather concern trolls).

And she does it with love, care, and humor!

This book is a memoir of the childhood and early adulthood of a woman overshadowed by her own weight.

The writing in this book is beautiful and evocative, particularly the descriptions of food and eating. That being said, this work is, otherwise, a tough read. The author feels unwanted and alone. She never achieves self-love or the sense of belonging she desires. Moore grew up long before size positivity existed and so she focused her energy and strength on changing rather than accepting herself. 

Though it is, at times, an excruciating chronicle of pain, this memoir is an important work because it reminds us how destructive anti-fat bias was in the past, highlighting, as well, how it continues today.

This is a story that many of us have experienced. The reality of it pulled me in. When I was in middle school, a boy I had “dated” made copies of a very personal letter I had written him. He and his buddy then handed the letter out to everyone. Classmates mockingly read the letter out loud to me. How mortifying. I feel you, Cannie Shapiro.

I also love this story because Cannie hits it off with a starlet who turns into a close friend. Who doesn’t want a famous bff? As Cannie pushed to find her way through the heartache and betrayal, I felt for her and wanted her to heal so she could find love and happiness again.

Though Linda Bacon didn’t originate the idea of Health at Every Size (HAES), this book popularized it for a mainstream audience. Here Bacon explains what HAES is and isn’t in clear, readable prose, supported by research, evidence, and logic. This book is a perfect starting point for anyone who wants to explore the ways we think about weight and health and how they are (and aren’t) connected.

You didn’t think I could make this list without including the queen of fat-positive YA, did you? Puddin’ is my absolute favorite Julie Murphy book, and it’s down to how much I adore the main character, Millie Michalchuk. She’s unapologetically dorky and genuine with her kitty sweatshirts and news anchor aspirations, and she reminds me very much of Teen Me.

Her story touches on fat trauma (a diet culture mom, a history at fat camps) but focuses on fat joy, which hit home because girl, same. And her friendship with POV-sharing Callie Reyes is a delight. This is the one I come back to when I need a hug in book shape.

Starfish is a beautiful middle grade novel-in-verse that captures the pain of living in a fatphobic world when you’re a fat kid and tween.

Ellie experiences the casual cruelty of ill-fitting clothing, as well as the piercing hurt of bullying, especially at the hands of family. Her Fat Girl Rules ring devastatingly true and I had a few more of my own growing up, like don’t breathe hard in gym class, even if it makes you feel like fainting.

But what I loved most about this book is that it is hopeful. We can move past self-hate and self-blame. We don’t have to carry the words other people call us. I found this book cathartic, even as an adult.

First, let me say that this is not a new book: it came out in 2011. And the author is someone I know. Even though I’m obsessed with her Substack and have loved every essay I’ve ever read, for some reason, I’d never read her books.

I picked Skinny because I liked the title, but the truth is, it doesn’t matter what Diana Spechler is writing—what the plot is, who the characters are—because every word she writes just sings.

This is a novel about a woman whose father dies, and she becomes a counselor at a diet camp because a girl she thinks is her half-sister is one of the campers. But, like I said, the plot is irrelevant. Diana Spechler just has this way of turning a phrase that manages to be hilarious, biting, descriptive, and original.

This book addresses female issues with weight in a way that you… show more.

Author Aubrey Gordon (Your Fat Friend, co-host of kickass podcast Maintenance Phase, and all-around-delightful-human-being) breaks down and debunks all of the (still) socially acceptable, pervasive, and oppressive myths about body size and fatness.

Her writing is deeply researched, as well as rooted in her experience in social justice advocacy work – she somehow writes and speaks with an amazing mix of no-B.S. and compassion, a balance that is rare and also, I believe, such an effective communication approach when advocating for human beings to be valued and treated with basic care and respect.

Bonus: When you “read” this book as an audiobook, you get to listen to Aubrey’s voice, which, when you’ve run out of Maintenance Phase, is like coming across a stream in the desert. 

Dumplin’ charmed me from the first sentence. The beauty pageant culture, which seems at times both earnest and absurd, is the perfect setting for a book starring a sassy, smart, daring heroine who won’t be sidelined because of a little thing like size. I adore the band of misfits Dumplin’ gathers around her, the amazing drag queens, the homage to Dolly Parton, and the triumphant, realistic, hopeful ending.