The First Diet Book Graphic Memoir
Cartoonist Carol Lay toiled with weight for years, until she reached her goal of 125 pounds. (She's kept it off ever since.) In her new graphic novel-memoir-motivational diet book, The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude, Lay uses imaginative story lines to show it ain't easy—like George Clooney showing up, tempting her with sausage-egg biscuits and hash browns.
But her will power was strong enough to slam the door on him, and again when the senior chick magnet showed up in a silk robe, dangling a nightcap at her. On another page, evil strikes again, but in the form of a girl scout at the door. How will the heroine combat Thin Mint temptation? A chainsaw.
Lay looks weight in the eye with a sense of humor but doesn't discount the poignant struggle. The cartoon catalogs her calorie consumption and burnage each day, down to every last Whole Foods free sample. Read this interview with her on Salon.
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6 Comments:
This is awesome--I love it. Thank you for introducing me to Carol's work!
cakespy at 4:37PM on 01/24/09
the diet portrayed in the sample chapter seems really sad and boring!i would binge on girl scout cookies if i only ate apples and tea!
spartana07 at 7:52PM on 01/24/09
If she actually looked like the cartoon version of herself in that strip, she wouldn't be needing to diet.
Luther at 12:04PM on 01/25/09
I love the part where she buys one malt ball from the bulk bins (later in the chapter). I do that all the time when I crave something but don't want to risk eating a whole bunch -- two chunks of dried papaya, or one slice of chocolate-covered candied ginger . That's what bulk bins are for!
piccola at 7:55PM on 01/25/09
Clooney is 47 -- not a "senior" yet.
Adam Kuban at 8:30AM on 01/26/09
@Adam Kuban: True. I was thinking more like senior in the chick magnet pecking order.
Erin Zimmer at 3:08PM on 01/28/09