Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body” by Roxane Gay

I cannot name one single person I know who has a healthy relationship with food. My first husband was deathly allergic to peanuts. I knew both anorexic and bulimic friends of all sizes in high school and college. There’s an actress I know in Hollywood who is so thin, every time I go to hug her I am scared to feel her ribs and shoulder bones.  I confess that I too carry a history of weirdness about food and have not ordered French fries since 1988. Too thin. Too fat. Too much. Too little. Pathetic. What is wrong with us? Why do we act so strangely around food and weight? “Hunger” by Roxanne Gay tackles this issue head on, honestly and poignantly. After being gang raped at the age of 12, Gay’s life was haunted by trauma that often resulted in overeating to make her own body less attractive, and therefore “safe.” Born to well-off Haitian immigrants, Gay kept her rape a secret while attending Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale. Despite the support of her parents and brothers, she would grow to weigh more than 550 pounds. Despite the fact that her story is so extreme, you can admire and connect with her memoir. Themes of food issues and trauma, coupled with bisexuality, are important issues to talk about openly, no matter your size, color or your gender. There is a chapter that tackles her pure humiliation about bringing on board an airplane her own seat belt extender and then being told by the airline she has to use their seat belt extender, which is regulation. Hers was not good enough. While reading her memoir it makes you want to somehow fight for her, while she was still trying to hone her own skills to fight back and advocate for herself. Why does the world have to be so cruel? As she enters adulthood, Gay finds her own voice through writing, and becomes ultimately more comfortable in her own skin. Today she is an associate professor of English at Purdue University and an opinion writer for “The New York Times.” She has transformed herself into a woman who speaks not only her own truth, but also the truth that all men and women can identify with. Feeling different when all you want is to feel is special is a struggle for all of us, but Gay writes an inspiring tale about learning to live with it. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.