True Beauty

This combination memoir and self-help manual authored by a successful plus-size model with the assistance of writer Paisner, who collaborated with Montel Williams on Mountain, Get Out of My Way, is addressed to women whose larger shapes do not fit the cultural idea of a trim body. According to Emme, over 60% of American females wear, like herself, a size 12 or larger, but their self-esteem is constantly eroded by media images of thin, super-fit women. She details the sad but engaging story of growing up with a stepfather who constantly badgered her to lose weight. His insensitivity, combined with the untimely death of her mother, plunged her into years of obsessive eating behavior that she overcame by getting involved with crew rowing and building a career. Emme offers larger women some fairly superficial advice on building self-esteem and a positive attitude, as well as more useful information from a model's perspective on improving fitness, posture, makeup and dress. (Jan.)