Holding Out for a Zero

Wardell (Safe Harbor?) delivers a riveting book about childhood trauma and the harmful neuroses that can arise from guilt. Thirty-four-year-old Valerie Malloy works as a financial controller for a size zero-to-six fashion designer, and “controller” is an apt description of her personality, as well. Throughout her adulthood, she has obsessively tried to control every tiny aspect of her life, to the point of being callous, even physically brutal, to those around her, including friends and family. Nevertheless, her dry wit and tragic backstory will hook readers. When Valerie was 14, she left a bag of balloons where her little brother could reach them and he choked to death. She has been burdened by guilt and regret ever since. When her sister Gloria is hospitalized, the damage from Valerie’s childhood reaches a tormented crescendo: Valerie superstitiously decides that, if she can diet to a size zero, Gloria will not die. This book’s message of warning about how unresolved traumas can manifest in devastating ways will appeal to a wide audience, and the author’s authentic voice will prompt chills, chuckles, and empathy. (BookLife)