Wake Up, I'm Fat!

""This is for all the fat girls!"" Manheim proclaimed, as she hoisted up her 1998 Emmy statuette for all the world to see. The award for her work as Ellenor Frutt on the television drama The Practice was also sweet recompense for a lifetime of fighting prejudice about her weight, of coming to terms with her insecurities and of feeling that she had finally made her parents proud. Manheim's passion and honesty are evident throughout her accessible narrative. No subject is off-limits, from family conflicts to professional discrimination, from her sexuality to what goes on behind the scenes at the Emmys. Always irreverent, witty and compassionate, Manheim talks openly of her experiences as a fat teenager dealing with her family's disapproval of her weight and of using drugs, including crystal meth, to keep her weight down and gain acceptance with her peers. She details her struggle to become an actor, of standing up to prejudice among drama teachers and directors and of demanding more realistic portrayals of fat women through her characters. In the end, her size has helped shape her politics and feminism: ""My fat... taught me not to be average, not to conform, not to go quietly. It made me a fighter."" Not just for all the fat girls, Manheim's story holds appeal for everyone who has ever let insecurity hold them back from realizing their dreams. Agent, Alexander Smithline of Vigliano Associates. $100,000 ad/promo; author tour; 22-city TV satellite tour; 20-city radio satellite tour. (May)