MY SKIN DON'T FIT

Name: MY SKIN DON'T FIT
Author: Aegina Angeliades
ISBN: 978-0990469407

by Aegina Angeliades ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2014

A revealing look at the self-sustaining cycle of food addiction and weight gain and the heart-rending consequences that...

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In her debut memoir, a Greek-American woman chronicles her lifelong struggle with weight and the desperate measures she took to combat it.

For years, Angeliades had suspected that she had started to pack on the pounds around the time she started kindergarten. When she was in her 20s, however, she discovered a piece of video evidence that proved otherwise: A family tape showed her shoveling up small pieces of steak when she was just a toddler. Whether or not that early enthusiasm for meat led to her dangerous overeating, Angeliades became obsessed with food. At the age of 15, she was 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 187 pounds, and had been diagnosed by her doctor as morbidly obese. Over time, she slipped into a worsening cycle of weight gain and overeating, a problem that eroded her self-esteem: “Being fat wasn’t exhausting. What really drained me were my efforts to distract the world from noticing my being fat. A good day was when no one called me ‘Fatso’ or otherwise commented on my largeness.” Angeliades movingly describes a childhood marked by trying desperately to fit in—not just into her clothes, but with her peers. The teen years are rough on any child, but hers were made worse by her size. A black leather belt used to re-create Madonna’s style, for example, looked like a “tourniquet that forced my blubber to move both north and south.” By the time she reached her late 20s, Angeliades had tried seemingly everything in vain: diets, spas, Weight Watchers, fat farms. She eventually turned to spirituality as a way to accept herself and now, nearing 40, only carries a few extra pounds. Angeliades injects welcome doses of humor into her story, which includes a hilarious aside about her childhood summers on the Greek islands. The book contains some unnecessary material that distracts from its focus, such as the author’s dating advice and perhaps too much on her spirituality. Nevertheless Angeliades’ struggles are real, and her voice is strikingly authentic.

A revealing look at the self-sustaining cycle of food addiction and weight gain and the heart-rending consequences that occur when it takes over a life.

Pub Date: June 30, 2014

ISBN: 978-0990469407

Page Count: 228

Publisher: Me Gigi Says Books

Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.