Book excerpt: "Thank heavens for Wendy Shanker: She's written a manifesto for all of us who are sick of obsessing over our bodies." -Seventeen Whether you're overweight or over dieting, Wendy will help you stop trying to drop pounds and drop insecurity instead. Wendy Shanker is a fat, healthy, beautiful girl who has simply had enough. Enough of family, friends, co-workers, women's magazines, even strangers on the street, all trying (and failing) to make her thin. She finally decided, "If I can't take it off, I'm going to take it on." With a mandate to change the world-and the energy to do it-Wendy shows how media madness, corporate greed, and even the most well-intentioned loved ones prey on our shrink-to-fit minds, if not our shrink-to-fit bodies. She invites people of all sizes, shapes, and dissatisfactions to trade self-loathing for self-tolerance, celebrity worship for reality reverence, and a carb-free life for a guilt-free Krispy Kreme. In Wendy's wonderfully funny and candid voice, she explores dieting debacles, full-figured fashions, and feminist philosophy while guiding you through exercise clubs, doctor's offices, shopping malls, and even the bedroom. She believes that you can be fit and fat, even as the weight loss industry conspires to make you think otherwise. The Fat Girl's Guide to Life invites you to step off the scale and weigh the issues for yourself.