Never Goin’ Back: Winning the Weight-loss Battle for Good

The popular television meteorologist/author (Don’t Make Me Stop This Car: Adventures in Fatherhood) shares his personal yet public weight-loss journey in this intimate memoir. Born in Queens in the 1950s, Roker was a preemie, weighing in at less than five pounds, but by the time he was in seventh grade he had a weight problem and suffered the humility of being dubbed “Fat Albert” by his classmates. “Morbid obesity” (he was 280 pounds at his wedding to ABC News and 20/20 correspondent Deborah Roberts) didn’t stop him from pursuing marriage, fatherhood, and a successful career, even landing a plum position on the staff of NBC’s Today Show. But at his father’s deathbed in 2001, Roker made a promise to his dad to lose the weight that had plagued him through decades of yo-yo dieting. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until he realized that he had to lose the weight for himself that he took the dramatic step of gastric bypass surgery. Without proselytizing, Roker describes the procedure and why it worked for him: Roker maintains that the road to weight loss is an individual decision and that well-meaning friends and family members would be wise to keep their mouths shut on the subject. In fact, Roker maintains that policing the overweight only makes the problem worse. Readers will appreciate this personable weatherman’s candor and humor as he chronicles his struggle and ultimate success. (Jan.)