Walking with a Shadow: Surviving Childhood Leukemia Book

Not a typical weight-loss book, which is a good thing. After getting to an all-time high of 703 pounds, and isolating herself from all social interaction, the author has pretty much given up on life. Until she finds a way to reconnect with the people again through the WWW. Compared to society's negative opinions of the morbidly obese, internet friends don't judge on appearance, and Nancy is slowly able to rebuild her self-esteem. Once she starts caring about herself again and finding joy in living, her weight starts to melt away; friends and interaction become more important than stuffing down negative feelings with food.

While I wasn't expecting a detailed memoir of her whole life, her background kinda/sorta helps to explain how she got to be so heavy. The loss of the weight is the shortest part of the book, and felt a bit rushed. But Nancy makes some excellent points about how, for many of us, paradoxically, excess weight is not really about the food. It's about how we deal with our emotions: some scream, some drink or use other addictive substances, and some choose food as the vice of choice. Why not? It's always available, and there's a food to fit every mood...

She didn't follow a diet plan as she lost weight, and, even now, doesn't freak out if she eats an extra bite of a sweet one day, and feels that life is more enjoyable when we are not obsessing about everything that goes into our mouths. Once the emotions were under control, for her anyway, the food and activity pieces of the puzzle just fell into place. There was the obligatory (for these types of stories!) appearance on Oprah to end the book, but the life story, while interesting in parts, was a bit of a slog to get to the point of the book.