Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat, and Freaks

Only a few pages into the first chapter, the reader becomes aware that the title does not indicate a collection of dessert recipes but instead refers to comedian Lampanelli's past experiences having sex with black men, which she recalls as her “chocolate diet”: “As I lost more than 60 pounds, I ran an Underground Railroad through my apartment.” After more than 30 pages on her search for the “perfect black man,” Lampanelli moves on to outline her standup career, from handling hecklers to doing the Tonight Show. Her breakthrough came with a 2002 Friars Club roast of Chevy Chase, and since then, as an insult comic, she has become a familiar face at numerous roasts, billing herself as “Comedy's Lovable Queen of Mean.” Seeking the roots of her humor, she recalls her childhood as an “attention whore”: “Eating to get attention is a behavior that I continued into my high school days.” She follows her memories of “fat rehab” with a variety of topics, from the Virgin Mary to vegans. Much is quite funny, and Lampanelli never pulls her punches. Despite her raw language and raucous writing, honest reflections and stark self-insights emerge as she probes her past. (Sept.)