T-Shirt Swim Club

April 15, 2024
Being fat is like the punchline in one of life's cruel jokes. It doesn't have to be. Ian Karmel, who has spent much of his life dealing with weight problems, recounts how he became a comedian, first in stand-up and then as a writer, as a response to his size. Early on, he notes that he will be using the term fat throughout the book. "It's a loaded word," he writes, "but I don't think it's the word's fault that we treat fat people like garbage." His sister and co-author, Alisa, who also struggled with her weight, took a different path. She gained a doctorate in psychology, aiming to help others deal with body image issues. Ian engagingly recounts the wonderful meals, drinks, and snacks he has consumed, but he also chronicles the difficulties of dealing with snide comments and bullying. His defense mechanism was to tell the joke before someone else did, and this is the element that makes this book remarkable. After a string of funny stories, he often slips in something painful or even angry. After several health scares, he realized that he had to lose weight--and did. He acknowledged that much of his overeating was due to stress and insecurity and that confronting those issues was essential. At this point, Alisa enters the text, and in the closing chapters, she bolsters Ian's journey of self-discovery with an examination of the psychological underpinnings of weight problems. The book could have easily turned into a clumsy plea for sympathy or a bad-tempered rant, but Ian and Alisa tell their interlocking stories with grace and humor. Ultimately, the book is about resilience and growth; for this reason, it has something to say to everyone. The Karmels serve up a comic and philosophical exploration suffused with hard-won wisdom and charming wit.

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