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Life in the Fat Lane
Author Cherie Bennett Tackles The Tough Subject of Kids and Weight By Donna Smith
Lara and her mother's relationship in the book is an important one. Instead of encouraging her daughter, she makes Lara feel even worse about herself. "The mom's disgust and shame at Lara's weight gain makes Lara feel exactly the same way: shamed and disgusted with herself," says Bennett. "Believe me, fat teens face a living hell much of the time on the school yard. They don't need to face it at home. And girls in that size 12 to 24 range desperately need mothers and fathers who truly believe that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes -- believe in it so much, in fact, that they believe it about themselves."
Mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters -- everyone should read this book. A number of states agree with this and have put Life in the Fat Lane on their junior high and high school reading lists. In 1999, the American Library Association named Life in the Fat Lane "Best Book for Young Adults," and it also won the 1999 Pinnochio Project Award for artistic endeavors that counter "looks-ism" in society.
Bennett hopes girls walk away from reading this book and realize that obsessing about weight is taking away from other things they could be doing. But, she wants girls to know there are definitely issues out there regarding weight. "I want them to realize some weight issues are dangerous: a girl 5'5", who weighs 75 pounds, or the same girl who weighs 475 pounds, has a serious medical problem. But the vast, vast majority of girls don't have serious medical problems with their weight. They're size 4 or 10, 14 or 24, and they should feel OK." Bennett also hopes her book will make kids more sensitive to their peers who are overweight. "Girls who read Life in the Fat Lane will never, ever make fun of someone because of their weight ever again."
