Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It

by Brittany Gibbons

Dear person holding Fat Girl Walking

First of all, thanks for picking up this copy of my first book. I hope you buy it—and not just because each purchase gets me one step closer to buying the leather pants of my dreams.

I hope you buy Fat Girl Walking because I want to start a conversation. Or continue a conversation, one I inadvertently started a while ago when I took my clothes off on a stage in front of 700 people. A lot of people thought I was awesome for doing that. A lot of others thought a size 18 woman had absolutely no business showing off her body. Unfortunately for them, I've made it my personal mission on my blog, in social media, on television, and now in this amazing book you're holding, to destroy the ridiculous myth that every woman who is overweight hates her body and herself. I, Brittany Gibbons, and the Curvy Girls I speak to every day on the internet, beg to differ. We love our bodies. We love fashion. We are in loving relationships, having lots of sex. We aren't just a fetish, we're normal women. Sure, sometimes we doubt ourselves, we're not robots, but not anymore than EVERY OTHER WOMAN ON THE PLANET. See, Fat Girls aren't freaks of nature. We're just like you. Maybe we are you.

Fat Girl Walking is a collection of stories from my life, my thoughts about the issues that I have faced as a woman, wife, mom, daughter, daughter-in-law, and internet personality in regards to my weight. I have tried to be as honest as I possibly could—apologies in advance to my husband and parents, but hopefully any discomfort you feel is quickly replaced by laughter. The insecure texts to my husband and summer camp hijinks are hilarious if I do say so myself. And I also ask some tough questions, things like "What if my husband weighs less than I do?" and "Is my body hate ruining my daughter's life?" Read Fat Girl Walking and let's start having these conversations. No pressure, but we may just save all of womankind.

Love,
Brittany

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Biography, Feminism, Self Help, Audiobook

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Almost every review I looked at rated it five stars and said it was life-changing. Recently, I have gotten very discouraged by my weight and how I look in clothes. I hoped this book would make me look at myself differently. It didn't. I don't understand how the title of the book is about being comfortable in your own skin ... through almost the entire book, Brittany is uncomfortable in her own skin. Sure, she strips to her bikini in front of the masses a few times, but she talks about how UNcomfortable that made her. She talks about feeling fat, not sexy, and uncomfortable throughout the entire book. I never felt like there was a point where she felt comfortable with herself. I get that she isn't actively trying to lose weight or change her appearance which is great, but I still don't get the feeling that she feels confident with her body and the way she looks. Basically this book made me feel like if you're overweight, you're never going to feel comfortable in your own skin. Not what I was hoping for!

[Roseanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this negative stars, I absolutely would. This is one of the worst books ever published. I saw this book in the news and was on the fence about giving it a try. I looked it up on Amazon and one very hateful review against plus size women (that has since been taken down) spurred me to purchase this book. And what a mistake and waste of money it was!

I have never read her blog or heard of her and honestly, I'm not sure how she ended up a spokesperson for those of us who are plus sized. I'm all for self acceptance regardless of size, ethnicity, whatever. Love who you are. She's like the fat version Jenny McCarthy - classless, not funny and pointless - how the hell did she get published? She seems to blame a lot of her promiscuous and nasty behavior on her strange family and mental illness. Um, no. She goes into way too much detail about her sex life and pregnancies and it's most definitely not enjoyable to read. She's kinda skanky and her story read more like a "Look at me! I'm big but I can have sex, get married and have kids!" Yeah, there are plenty of people out there who do all that and don't have to debase and degrade themselves in the process. I'm annoyed that THIS is what is out there representing a segment of the population who is nothing like her. I got nothing positive about size acceptance and loving yourself out of this book. I actually hate myself a little bit for reading it.

[Jayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. (And this is coming from a person who typically loathes memoirs.) You need to read this. You. Meaning any human with the capability to read and comprehend text. Skinny? Read it. Chubby? Read it. Female? Read it. Male? Read it. Why? I promise you will laugh. But more than that, you will understand what it is like for overweight women. Hopefully with understanding, you will find tolerance, and maybe even acceptance.

But..... WARNING: Do not read this in public. You will be liable to get strange looks since uncontrollable laughter may strike at any moment. I was reading while in a crowded waiting room and got to the part with the Ben Wa balls. I was holding my laughter in and it ended up coming out as a really loud snort. Not only did snorting hurt, I received a large number of looks.

I could relate to almost every single part of this book. As a plus-sized woman (established in 6th grade), this hit on so many feelings and thoughts that have also went through my head. I laughed a lot, and cried a little, too. I am so thankful that Brittany shares so much with people. It is so refreshing to know that you are not alone. It is so frustrating to be judged by someone who doesn't know your story. Since I know this is going to be a bestseller, hopefully an end will be put to all the shaming, fat or skinny.

I received an ARC via the Goodreads First Reads program.

[Mauoijenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun and honest book. I have been dealing with my weight since I was in high school, so reading about a fellow "thick" gal and how she has the confidence to do what she needs to do was very rewarding. I enjoyed this a lot.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Gibbons's overarching message is a positive one, I didn't finish the book thinking I'd found a new role model. My biggest takeaway is that she's determined to turn herself into a celebrity by packaging her story for "real women" who struggle with feeling good about themselves. She wants to shock people and get a reaction, but she contradicts herself at times. I don't feel compelled to follow her blog. It was an entertaining read with a few "Yes, right on!" moments. I hope she keeps evolving as a "celebrity advocate" for body acceptance.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on a nonfiction kind of kick lately so of course when the opportunity came to read this wonderful book by Brittany Gibbons... well, I didn't hesitate people.

I enjoyed Fat Girl Walking a lot more than I expected. Yes, I looked at the mixed reviews up and down before I dove into this book. I also didn't set any expectations for it either.. so that helped. I liked her take on weight and confidence. Man, this girl is funny, feisty, and sassy as crap. I laughed so much that I definitely cried. Bad thing for me... I wore mascara (not waterproof!!) at work today. Boy did I have an ugly face by the time I went to the bathroom!!

Overall, I really liked this book. It had such a positive image and will definitely empower woman no matter their body size. Loved everything about it.

[Kira Simion · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I absolutely LOVED the concept....I had a few "well...." moments.

Being obese doesn't mean you can't love yourself. As the title says love every inch of your skin and such. I agree.

The one thing that I don't think was mentioned was that you don't have to stay that way if YOU don't want to.

I was 120 pounds and since I'm was really short and young back then, I felt like every step for me was hard. I could feel my muscles aching when I tried to jog in gym. I was unfit and a little overweight for my age.

I loved the book's encouragement, the jokes about your weight (trying to make humor out of every situation) was pretty funny, and the stories themselves were a nice thing to relate a bit to.

My note is just that if you WANT to change, you shouldn't be afraid to change. If you love the way you are, you can and should stay the way you are.

Skinny, obese, whatever you feel like you are, you should do what makes you feel most comfortable.

I didn't like the feeling of my skin being droopy so I worked out. I worked and worked and worked out for months. I wanted to change so I DID change. You don't have to stay the same if you don't want to. Just because people say that you should be 'happy' as you are, we ALL have room for IMPROVEMENT. What you want to improve is up to you.

[Aeicha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fellow plus-size gal, reading Brittany Gibbons’ Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin...Every Inch Of It was both joyful and surprisingly personal. In Fat Girl Walking, body image advocate and popular blogger, Brittany Gibbons, shares tidbits of her childhood and life, exploring what it means to be a plus-size woman in this modern world.

Through laugh-out-loud humor and with unflinching honesty, Gibbons’ memoir and essays are charming, entertaining, deliciously brash, and beautifully profound. Nothing is held back and no topic is off-limits in Fat Girl Walking. From a sometimes screwed-up childhood to bullies, sexuality, mental illness, financial troubles, and more, Gibbons tackles each topic with addicting humor, inspiring confidence, and simple truths. Things that society often ignores in regards to plus size woman (dating, sex, eating disorders, etc), are the things Gibbons bravely brings front and center.

I love that this isn’t a diet book, it isn’t the story of how one woman overcame her weight issues or learned to love herself despite her issues. Fat Girl Walking is a celebration of embracing your flaws and imperfections and loving yourself just the way you are.

my final thoughts: Fat Girl Walking is the perfect read for anyone who has ever struggled with their weight or for anyone who has simply felt not good enough. You won’t find any cheesy cliches are trite advice in this book, just hilarious stories, refreshing honesty, and a whole lot of inspiration!

[Emmitouflee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept of the book, I really do, and I'm all about female empowerment and loving your own body. However, the execution of it, the fact that vulgar sex references overlay all of her experiences from age 10 and up, is not what I want to be reading about.

And when I see quotes like:

"When my classmates would put their heads down in prayer for the sick and the dying, I'd clench my eyes shut and pray that my hair would go straight and my boobs would shrink"

and:

"This was during the era when hairdressers still convinced you that curly hair was more controllable if you permed it. We should be rounding them up the same way we round up war criminals and Nazi sympathizers"

It makes me feel very sorry that Brittany Gibbons experienced such hardships and cruelty from children and adults alike, but at the same time how can I be expected to feel sympathy for someone who makes boorish, outlandish statements in a failed attempt at humor I suppose and who doesn't appear to feel sympathy for others? It makes me feel like she has no compassion and her priorities are mixed up.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read a lot of memoirs; some have been very explicit. I expected this to be a little racy, the title suggests as much; however I just felt embarrassed for the author.

Some of the things she shared made me cringe. Also, she shared all of these things with the knowledge that someday her children will be able to read her book.

She kept insisting that she has finally accepted her body, but it's evident that she really hasn't.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was #2 on the library hold list for this book for months.
(Reader #1, what the heck?! Were you committing each page to memory?)

Eight other books pushed back to wait and Brittany jumped to the front of the line. I climbed into bed, cracked the cover and.. right there on page 4 a low growling sound came from deep within my chest.

She bagged on a guy who “apparently” had a thyroid problem.

I closed the cover. I tried not to let myself be a jerk but the tone hung on my shoulders.

Lest we have forgotten: Words have power.

I told my husband I wasn’t going to read the book.
He replied that I was being ridiculous and that I was making a big deal out of nothing.

My heart was a little bit broken on page 4. I carried on.

I read it because I felt like I had to. There was no enjoyment.

As I am “apparently” one of the 20 million Americans with thyroid disease I can’t let this slide. Brittany can speak for body awareness and fat positivity and my friends on Facebook sure do seem to like her a whole bunch, but please don’t advocate for me, thank you very much.

I wake up every morning as a survivor of two thyroid cancer surgeries and I fight every damn day for my physical and mental health. To be so quickly dismissed in the introduction portion of the book- and good for you, truly, good for you if thyroid disease does not affect you in any way- was disheartening and discouraging, because I really hoped that in 2015, when we’re trying to demonstrate and garner acceptance things would be different.

But they’re not and this book isn’t either.

[Rossy]

This is one of those reviews where I'm confused on how to start.
Even though it was really fun and honest, the last few pages were so difficult to finish! I got bored by the chapter when we read her emails with her husband, because, although they are kind of hilarious, they got me thinking: "Ok... these are just thrown as an extra chapter(?) Why are they here(?)", and also because Brittany goes from having serious body issues to accepting her as she is in the blink of an eye.
I don't think the title is accurate, yes, she has overcome some of her issues, but I don't feel she is comfortable in her skin, and that was clearly what I was expecting when I started this book.

[Jolien · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40%

Review first published on my blog The Fictional Reader

I requested this book from Edelweiss for several reasons. First, I’d seen her Ted Talk and thought it was really thought provoking and empowering. Second, I’m all about body positivism. I was expecting it to be a memoir of a woman who came to love her own body, even though society doesn’t necessarily celebrate it. That’s not what I got at all.

I felt genuinely uncomfortable while reading this book -up until the 40% of course, because that’s where I gave up. Here’s why:

This is more a chronicle of her entire awkward life, rather than her body positivity journey.

I got told the lovely story of when she thought she had her first period when she woke up to puking and blood on the sheets, but actually it was her dog’s period blood on her. EW!!!!!!

She taped her vagina shut as a young teenager because the priest in her Catholic school had scared her so much, and then had to go to the hospital.

While she stands for embracing your body, I got some really spiteful vibes towards “skinny women”. For example, when she stated she was glad her first time was nice, it said: “So many of my skinny, gorgeous friends have absolutely horrible stories about losing their virginity, and aside from an unfortunate eighties song about the Cold War, my first time was perfect.” This is not a competition. We should all want our friends to have a perfect/good first time?

I got some other vibes I’m not really okay with. Such as shaming her past self/behavior as such: “I began to search out a point of connection between the girlishness and attractiveness I wasn’t feeling, and that connection became messing around with boys. Or in better high school girl terms, I became a huge whole, which was actually somewhat of a challenge because I looked like a fat Dutch Boy with boobs."

I wanted this to be a book about body positivism. Instead, I felt uncomfortable the entire time, cringed so often people on the train thought I was having a stroke, and thought she sounded quite judgy of certain behavior/people even though that’s the opposite of what this book is supposed to achieve.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I ever want of a book is for it to make me laugh and cry. Sounds simple but it's remarkably difficult to pull off. Brittany Gibbons did it. I laughed. I cried. I related to her and I had to put the book down and think long and hard about my own life and the way I look at myself. It challenged me and I didn't expect that.

I expected to be entertained because I've read the author's blog and she's funny as hell. I didn't expect to be lifted up. I didn't expect to be challenged to be kinder. To be more accepting. To learn to love myself just as I am so that my daughter gets that message too.

But I did.

I laughed and I cried, yes. But I also learned something too. This book is thought-provoking on top of entertaining, and that's a lot more than I bargained for.

Good book indeed. I think you should read it too.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had not heard of Brittany Gibbons until picking up this book. This was a pretty interesting book about loving your body as it is. It an was easy and fast read. The writing style was friendly and conversational. No earth shattering revelations but I enjoyed reading it.

[Charlotte Padgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Just wish I had been able to read it about 65 years ago. It would have been a permanent fixture in my life.

[Emily W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brittany Gibbons is my new obsession and hero.

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

***REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED ON WWW.WHATISMUCH.COM***

(Thanks be to Edelweiss for the ARC of this book!)

I’d admittedly never heard of Brittany Gibbons before requesting her debut book, Fat Girl Walking, on Edelweiss. But really, the summary made the book sound like something I’d be into, so I hit the submit button and waited. When I was approved to read Fat Girl Walking, I was excited, but I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into.

Brittany Gibbons has been plus size her entire life. But as the summary for her book says, this “isn’t a diet book”, and it “isn’t one of those former fat people memoirs about how someone battled, and won, in the fight against fat”. Instead, Fat Girl Walking is a collection of stories pulled straight from Gibbons’s memory about her life as, well, a fat girl.

And here’s the thing: There’s NOTHING wrong with that. That’s what we learn by the end of the book. Gibbons is now a super successful blogger and a spokesperson for body positivity, and there’s no doubt in my mind as to why she’s become so popular. She’s funny and smart and outrageous, and I love it. I’m actually kind of annoyed that I’d never heard of her before, with all the time I spend online! As a fellow fat girl, reading Fat Girl Walking made me want to accept myself, accept my body, more than I did before. It’s not an easy feat to do, but Brittany Gibbons made me feel like it’s actually POSSIBLE.

I’d definitely recommend this book for any of the women in my life, and for some of the men, too. I feel like Fat Girl Walking is going to be an important addition to the conversation on body positivity and acceptance in this day and age. I’m really glad to have had the chance to read it.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know... I thought it was supposed to be funny and it wasn't. I also thought it was poorly organized. Several times in the narrative she would double back and suddenly tell us about something that had happened several years before the preceding anecdote that would have made everything make more sense. I also felt uncomfortable with the amount she was divulging about her parents - their health problems, both mental and physical, and their financial concerns especially. I kept feeling as I was reading that I was intruding on some people's privacy and I didn't enjoy it.

[TinaB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hysterical. Real life drama and honest talk about weight issues ......while I don't share all of Gibbons views on life, I defiantly admire her take on it.

[Anas Attic Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It by Brittany Gibbons

Humorous Memoir 
I don't know how many of you know this, but I have another blog called Starting on Monday. I started it to blog about motherhood, laziness, being chubby, and maybe, hopefully, to write about a diet as I lost weight. 2.5 years later, I'm heavier than ever, and I feel so frustrated, I stopped even posting on the blog. My last post was called "I hate my body". That self-hatred permeates every single aspect of my life.

I have read some of Brittany Gibbon's blog, Brittany, herself, and always wished I could feel as beautiful and as good in my skin as she does, but I'm not even close. But it turns out this book was so crazy relatable! Brittany wasn't always comfortable in her skin, she hated herself too. Well, geez, it sounds depressing, but Fat Girl Walking is anything but.

I laughed out loud, and cry/laughed at a few points that were just so...me. I have quotes highlighted throughout the book, and I wish I could share them all. It reads like a novel, but it's her life. Brittany is like my perfect best friend, I want to steal her, and hang out all the time (stalker much?) Actually I DID kind of hang out with her almost 2 years ago, with Jasinda Wilder, and Alice Clayton, and Angie from SBC!  I'll have the video at the end of this review if you're interested, of our "Curvy Girls in the Bedroom" chat, despite my laryngitis, I was so honored to be a part of this. It was the only time in my life my weight worked for me!

If you have no idea who Brittany is, that's OK. Let me give you an overview.

I am the internet's token fat girl. If the internet is still a thing when I'm old and die, all this might be included in my obituary.
Brittany Gibbons: The jolly face of plus-size women. Known for taking her clothes off to make political statements and making skinny people everywhere feel uncomfortable."

Actually this is bullshit, because I think any average girl can relate to her, skinny or fat, everyone has had an issue with themselves, don't you think?

But for me, the keys to my success are just being not slim, making vagina jokes on social media, and having Nigerian men tell me I look pretty and then ask me to accept wire transfers of large sums of money."

Brittany is so real. She's not preaching to you, she's not telling you how to lose weight, she is telling you about her life in a way that is so relatable, it's like chatting with a friend. She talks about growing up, getting her period, and then finding boys can boost up her self esteem, and how she fooled around with lots of them (I related to this so much!). She talks about experimenting in college, and of falling in love with her husband. She talks of having kids, and his having a vasectomy.

And she talks about her public life. Brittany went on all the morning shows in a bathing suit. She talks about the nasty internet trolls and how the media twists things around. But she does it all with humor and fun, with lots of balls and vagina comments.

My vagina was like an empty grocery bag. I peed all the time: when I laughed, when I sneezed, when I ran. I once threw up so violently during a bout of food poisoning that my tampon shot out of me like a nerf bullet"

(I had a similar experience while reading Seduction and Snacks, you can read about it here.)

It was so nice to read a book from someone who gets you, from putting your hand on your stomach to assure people you weren't fat but pregnant, to never being in any photos so it looks like your kids have no mom, and running to Facebook like a crazy person if someone tags you. From hemorrhoids to only having clitoral orgasms, Brittany is me, only 10 years younger, prettier and funnier.

But there is an important message to learn, ESPECIALLY if you have daughters. Life is too short to live with self-loathing. Don't let your kids catch the self-hatred bug. Love yourself and others will too.

I was drowning in self-loathing, and the only way I could save her was to save myself."

Brittany talks a big game about body confidence now, but you can see that the self-loathing and self esteem issues are still there, lying right under the surface. She's not a narcissist, she's not in love with herself. She is still on this journey of acceptance, and it just made her all the more real to me, and absolutely motivated me to think a little differently.



Likes:

•I was worried I wouldn't get into it because it wasn't a novel. No issues there, it is a love story with her husband, and with her self.
•I laughed out loud so many times, because I could so relate!
•I cried for her and laughed at the same time.
•I loved knowing that she wasn't always so confident. That she hated herself most of her life as well.
•She shared so many really private moments both from her growing up and from her marriage. Her husband must be a saint.

Dislikes:

•I didn't dislike anything (except the price). But I would have liked some great dressing tips, she is an awesome dresser.
•I would have liked a little more on the process of learning to love ones self, and maybe a little more since her attitude has changed about herself, it was very heavy about her "before" and a little light on the "after".

Rating 5 stars. Although sex is discussed, there are no sexy scenes.



The Down and Dirty:

Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It is not a novel, but it reads with the ease of one. It's funny, it's smart, it's relatable to anyone who has any self esteem issues, and for curvier moms with daughters, I think this should be required reading. The book encouraged me to re-start Starting on Monday, and to try some positive self talk instead of the negative crap I spew at the mirror daily. Brittany's stories about growing up were fun and relatable, and her honestly was refreshing. I have never related to a "character" in a book so much, and she's real! I know this is pricey for our little bookie community, but the price is different for memoir type books. I, for one, think it was more than worth the price!

 


Purchase Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It by Brittany Gibbons
Kindle Audible BN.com iBooks
Check Brittany out on Entertainment Tonight. See her on The Today Show.

Check out the episode of Last Call Brittany with Jasinda Wilder, Alice Clayton, Angie from SBC, Amber Doty , me (with laryngitis) and Brittany, herself (pun...that's the name of her blog):

https://youtu.be/c8pMp2Ge9wU

[Emily Dunbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fat book, yahoo!

This one’s a memoir — our first in this project, but my 26826 billionth in life. This is an important note because had I read this when it first came out (2015), I would have lost my entire ass with glee and Realizing Things. But here in 2020, I can barely count the number of fat girl memoirs I’ve read, each with their varying levels of nuance completely dependent on the time period it was being written. In 2015, we were still very much the beginning of the “”bopo“” movement, and Brittany is absolutely one of the figureheads in that chapter of fat liberation’s history. She is an important asset to our community. That being said, I think this book would be a lot different if she wrote it today. No one’s fault, just the way it is.

Worth the read if you’re looking for somewhere to start in fat memoir (she’s super funny and easy to read!!) but not a seminal text. If you’ve already read all the others, you could prob skip.

I’ll add it to the shelf just in case, though.

[Nuala Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading Fat Girl Walking and I have to say, even though I am lucky to count myself among the friends of Brittany, this book spoke to me in ways I didn't anticipate. Not only does she share, without rose coloured glasses, the bare nuts of her life, her journey and her insecurities, she does it fearlessly. She lives out loud on the pages in such a way that I could practically hear her voice in my ear telling me the story.
Brittany has a way of taking all those terrible voices we all hear in our own heads when it comes to body issues and putting them out on the page in a way that makes sense.
Every woman should read this book. Every man should read it too.

Well done!

[Bianca Bancroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncorrected Proof Copy of the Book - Brittany does an amazing job at making everything she's saying feel relatable. You understand why she does what she does and what she's done in the past and why she did that. The book makes sense and more importantly it holds a great message. It in no way reads like a self help book, which I think is what I thought it would be when I read the title. I was very happy when I realized that it was her journey and how she grew to love herself, but everyone has to find their own individual way. Brittany is a great writer and she's funny! I had never heard of her before, but now I'm a huge fan.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched Gibbon's TED talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBrKg...) after reading this and I think it better explains what this book is about than I can ever do here. I think the big take away is women are taught by society not to love their bodies unless they are Kate Moss thin (which nobody is for sure). Gibbons has a sense of humor and definitely had a long journey to being comfortable in her own skin. She was inspired by her own daughter.

I had a good time reading many portions of the book. I am not visible on the internet, so I have not followed Gibbons' blog or website. I think it may be worth a look.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brittany is the girlfriend everyone needs to have. She had me laughing to the point of tears, for reals crying and fist-bumping the air. This is amazing and empowering!

[Betsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. I read this woman's blog, I follow her on Instagram, I'm part of her online sisterhood, I interact with her in tiny ways every day, but I am still blown away by how blown away I am by this book. The first 70-75% is about her life growing up and becoming who she is now. The last part is about how she learned to love herself and how we can all learn to love ourselves. It's about accepting not only ourselves for who we are but accepting everyone else for who they are as well. It's given me a lot of food for thought and I really hope that it starts a lot of positive conversations.

Here are some things that really spoke to me as I read;
"The reality was that my life wasn't miserable because I was curvy; I was miserable because I thought I'd be happier if I were thinner, and when I sat down to think about it, it didn't really make sense."

"Women especially wanted someone to stand up and say all the things they weren't brave enough to say yet. They wanted to talk about having sex and shopping and friendships and dating, not as a plus-size person, but as a *person*. We aren't fetishes or last resorts, but we were being treated that way in the media. Curvy women want to be reassured that they were allowed to both love and hate parts of their body and at the end of the day, still have worth."

"We pay money every day to be reassured we aren't meeting the current standard of beauty. We not only are told that we're not good enough: we willingly pay for that experience."

"As I stand at the top looking down, I realize this is not a plus-size movement, but a woman's movement. Strength and empowerment are not built on the backs of other women. The realness of a woman is not defined by her curves or lack thereof; real women are those who defend and empower all women, no matter what the size of their ass is. If we don't say enough and stop the race to the beauty-standard finish line, the casualties and the resentment women have toward each other will grow."

Buy it.
Read it.
You won't be sorry.

PSC2015 Nonfiction

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first found Brittany online after the birth of my second child. She had written a hilarious post about working at the Gap that made me pee my pants a little. I've been hooked ever since.

Figuring out she lived only 20 minutes away our whole lives made it even more interesting. As she chronicled her growing up years, I could draw similar parallels to my own.

This book gives us a little piece of her soul, and I appreciated hearing the journey, as in her blog you only got snippets and not put in the context of her life, which helps to show how far she had to journey to get where she is today and not without a few insecurities and missteps. I appreciate the realness of the book, the honesty and the ability to realize you need to be comfortable in your own skin to change the MFing conversation as well as not pass your insecurities down to your own children, who will then hate their bodies because that's all they know to do.

Some of my favorites quotes:

"I've actually long suspected there was a skinny girl inside me, but not in a metaphysical way. More like I probably had a twin, but I ate her."

"...Talking about makeup and our favorite New Kid on the Block, mine of course being Danny, an early foreshadowing of my preference for men with mouths built for cunnilingus."

On failing to get a phone sex job because of her inability to talk about female and male genitalia: "Saying those words out loud was a lot harder than pointing at them in person and then putting them inside you, which is how I handle both the majority of my foreplay and orderings things in foreign-speaking restaurants."

And finally, words of wisdom from her grandma: "You are going to fail at a lot of things, so when you do, do it on such a grand scale that half the room gives you a standing ovation, and the other half gives you the middle finger."

Well, Grandma, I give your granddaughter a standing ovation. Bravo, Brittany. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the next one.

And btw, I like 15 minutes away, let's be friends!!! :)

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Brittany Gibbons' style is very reminiscent of Jenny Lawson's "Let's Pretend This Never Happened." If you liked that book, you will really enjoy "Fat Girl Walking." I enjoyed the stories of her childhood and about her family experiences. I didn't know she was from Ohio when I picked up this book but to me that made her even more relatable-also the fact that she attended Catholic grade school for part of her upbringing. I appreciated her honesty as she shared some pretty private moments and struggles. I love that the overarching theme of her book, and her life, is an absolute lack of apology for who she is. Everything about her screams confidence. I like that she talks about going through the long and lengthy process to get to this point but when you read her words you just feel like she's been comfortable in her skin all her life. After I read the part about her TED talk, I went online to watch it and it was incredibly moving. I teared up a little as she spoke. She was so confident but you could also tell she had that edge of nervousness mixed with empowerment. She is incredibly brave and I think she is giving a voice to all women, regardless of size. She stresses that too at the end, that she realizes the majority of women struggle with body issues, be we thin, heavy, "average-sized" (whatever that means!), tall, small, differently-abled, whatever the case may be. Beyond all of this,her sense of humor and natural funniness makes this a book perfectly balanced with meaning and entertainment. I can't say enough good about this book. For someone so young she displays an incredible amount of maturity and insight while still being highly accessible and down to earth. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I keep thinking about. While I ultimately rated this book 4 stars, it has more to do with the somewhat disjointed flow of the narration and some of the sections that felt just like filler (especially the section of email transcripts between her husband and herself). (Updated: Was 3 stars but because I keep thinking about it, upgraded as it has had more of an impact than I thought.)

With that being said, there are also gems hidden inside and the author's voice really shines through. It is honest, at times crass, funny, touching, and thoughtful. The part of the book I found most meaningful was the section "The Girl Who Saved My Life." She describes how even though her young daughter was brave and funny and beautiful, she was starting to mimic her mother's actions in front of a mirror. "She wasn't twirling or smiling or thinking about how sparkly and pretty she looked; she was mimicking the way I'd touch my stomach standing in front of the mirror, frustrated with my body and what it looked like in clothes, pressing my palm into my gut [...]" This moment in time seems to be a touchstone for the author bringing her back to the idea that the best way to help her daughter be confident was to take care of herself. "I was drowning in self-loathing, and the only way I could save her was to save myself. The problem was I had no idea how."

On another note, I read this with Audible and the narrator (Lauren Fortgang) does a wonderful job. She reads it so naturally that, knowing pretty much nothing about the author, I had originally thought the narrator was also the author.