More, Please: On Food, Fat, Bingeing, Longing, and the Lust for Enough

In this smart first outing, Vogue writer Specter braids journalism and autobiography to unpack her battle with binge-eating disorder. The chronological narrative begins with her girlhood, which she uses as a prism to explore how diet culture can sour relationships between mothers and daughters. Specter’s weight yo-yoed as she entered young adulthood and internalized the idea that fat was “the one thing I couldn’t be if I wanted to be loved.” She lost 50 pounds with Weight Watchers, but “the part that felt fundamentally unworthy was harder to shed.” After moving from L.A. to New York City and coming out as queer in her 20s, Specter reorganized her relationship with food, and eventually came to accept herself as “a fat, mostly happy, out-and-proud dyke.” Interwoven throughout are insightful interviews with science reporter Sabrina Imbler, weight-discrimination expert Virgie Tovar, and others who compare their own experiences with body image and disordered eating against broader social trends. Specter’s incisive report will intrigue readers of all sizes. Agent: Natalie Edwards, Trellis Literary Management. (July)