Book Review: Fat Girl, by Judith Moore

Fat Girl by Judith Moore is based on her true-life story; the entire book is her complete and honest story from her childhood. Growing up as a fat unhappy girl, into a 'still' fat woman.

The story itself is sad, upsetting, and disturbing, not because the little girl is a fat little girl and can't lose weight, but because throughout the book she is physically and emotionally abused.

Her mother beats her time and time again, because she is fat, and she constantly puts her on crash diets, and even puts her through cycles of starvation to get her to loose weight; but in reality, it's not to get her to lose weight, its to punish her for the most part, and to get her to look the way she wants her to look; thin.

If she fails to loose any weight she is beaten again, while being mentally abused.

Her mother constantly reminds her of how worthless and ugly she is, almost every time she is in her presence. She is blamed her for all the wrongs in her life; how wonderful her life would have been if she was never born, and constantly talks down to her about how fat and worthless her father is and that is why they are divorced, and that she is just like her fat worthless father.

When she goes to live with her Grandmother for the summer because of her mother's job, the Grandmother also mentally abuses her. (Like mother like daughter. Two sick pieces of garbage). I truly thought that going to Granny's house would of been a turn for the better for the poor young girl. Sadly this was not the case.

You become aware early on of how the girl has a love for food, and perhaps still does by the way she describes food throughout chapters and the meals she ate in full detail, perhaps too much detail.

She really cannot help herself, food becomes her comfort, for the comfort that she does not get from her home life, and this is why she continues to grow larger and larger. It gets so bad that she is even breaking into other people's homes to help herself to some of their food, and raiding fridges and cabinets of goods, and to pretend she is a member of their family.