making use of my best resource! *winning smile*

[such_heights]

Hi all,

Am looking for resources for a couple of friends of mine, and was wondering if any of you have some links/suggestions off the top of your head!

1. I am looking for novels that feature positive portrayals of women who aren't thin.

2. I am looking for resources to help someone who's currently in a pretty bad pit of depression but having trouble articulating that and reaching out. That sounds all too familiar to me, but I don't recommend my own strategy of going and going until you snap. Anything about first reaching out for professional support or recognising that's what happening is an illness and not a moral failing would be most welcome.

♥!

Comments

[pocky_slash]

I can help with some MG/YA books for the second one, but I'm on my way out of work, so I won't be able to get back to you until I get home :)

[such_heights]

That's no problem, whenever you have time would be great!

[sheafrotherdon]

Have you shared the first chapter of Noonday Demon with her? It's not really about reaching out, per se, but it is a great resource for compassionately deconstructing stigma. The third chapter is about treatments - if that would be helpful to have, I could copy it on Monday and scan it for you?

[miss_haitch]

The Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce has a heroine who is big and kicks ass. It's YA coming-of-age fantasy, and can be a bit twee in places but is generally pretty cool. Fire (YA fantasy again) by Kristin Cashore has a big side character who is lovely and schemingly political. However, it has sexual assault as a massive thematic...erm, theme, and is horribly tearjerky, so if your friend is feeling fragile I'd recommend being cautious. It makes me sad that others don't come to mind very easily - I hope you get some more recommendations.

RE: resources for reaching out and getting help, I do know a handful of books designed for children. They might be helpful for your friend (I find kids' stuff often speaks to me more strongly and directly than adults' stuff) but obviously something else may work better. However, Michael Rosen's The Sad Book is one that comes to mind straightaway - it can appeal to any age, and puts things in a very straightforward way. Again, a big tearjerker - anyone should definitely ensure they're in a safe space when reading it.

[such_heights]

I've sent that over, yes. And thanks very much for the kind offer, but I do see the book's actually pretty cheap online at the moment so I think I may get myself a copy in any case.

[such_heights]

Oh awesome, thanks so much for the info! And the first resource is for academic purposes, so anything and everything is great.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you, Amy. *squishes you*

Re. number 1, It's kind of obvious and she probably already knows about them, but there's the whole series of Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency books?

Phoebe

[netgirl_y2k]

Um, the No. 1 Ladies Dective Agency books are terribly terribly twee, but have a protagonist who's big, sorry, traditionally built, and is still smart and shrewd and competent.

God, it's actually kind of sad that that's the only example that springs to my mind.

[such_heights]

I know, that was my first thought as well! I adore Mma Ramotwse, but dammit we could do with more characters like her.

[such_heights]

Any time! And yes, those were the only books that sprung to mind, unfortunately.

[netgirl_y2k]

Oh! There's Also Sybil Vimes from the Discworld series. She's not in many books, but when she is it's kind of a theme that people underestimate her because they only see her as being big and kind. She once knocked a werewolf out with a pipe. I love her.

[sassbandit]

And whatsername, the witch-in-training? Err, the one who was in Maskerade. Sorry, been a while since I read Pratchett.

[(Anonymous)]

I found a couple of lists that merit closer investigation:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Large-size-heroines-and-related-reading/lm/2OXKQ0KDIUG1T

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Large-size-heroines-from-fiction-to-real-life/lm/19EQNNVXDP8ZY/ref=cm_srch_res_rpli_alt_5

x

[filomena]

Ruth Rendell's Adam and Eve and Pinch Me has a deeply sympathetic portrayal of an obese woman with an anorexic husband. In fact, she's the most likeable character in the novel, and probably the one the reader is intended to identify with most. Food concerns play a big role in the story, obviously, but there's also a lot of stuff about intimacy and sex and tenderness that just don't tend to come up in connection with fat characters. (The story as a whole isn't just about them, but this is the part of the book I remember best.)

[such_heights]

Oh cool, that sounds really interesting. Thanks!

[chaila]

Here are two links I have bookmarked about books featuring larger characters, though I have to qualify and say I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet and some of them seem to actually be *about* being larger, so that may not be what you're after. But in case they're helpful:

This post is about YA books, but: http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2011/jan11_nolfi.asp (scroll down about 2/3 for the recs, the rest of the post is a critique of other books).

http://www.maadwomen.com/lynnemurray/essays/fatfiction.html

[liseuse]

1.) Hood by Emma Donoghue is totally awesome for this. The main character isn't thin, and it is chockfull of body acceptance and awesomeness.

2.) I think my main thing would be to recommend The Noonday Demon. I love all of it, but I guess the first chapter would be the best starting point. If you go to the website for the book the first chapter is available as a free download.

[littlebutfierce]

Half World by Hiromi Goto has a protagonist who isn't thin. I nominated this book for YT this year, but alas, no bites!

(This book also gets a lot of praise for having a non-thin protagonist but I really couldn't stand it, mostly for other reasons.)

[pocky_slash]

Okay. Here are three or four books I can remember off the top of my head that fit the first request. They're all YA, I think.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Caroline Mackler (which is one of the books I covered last year for Banned Books Weeks, and also was a Printz Honor, I think.)

This Book Isn't Fat, It's Fabulous by Nina Beck

Pretty Face by Mary Hogan

Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have by... someone. Can't remember the name and too lazy to google, but this once is recent-ish.

Oh, I lied! I just thought of a MG book, as well:
Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by ...I can't remember the first name and I'm too lazy to google. The last name is "Dionne," I believe.

[pocky_slash]

Whoops! Read it again and realized you said women. Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have is about a dude. Sorry!

Also, there's one... I should probably just give up and google it, but there's a teen book about a chubs girl actress that came out recently-ish? I can't remember what it was called. I didn't actually read it, but I read the BookMaster summary of it. She leaves her hometown and goes to LA? I could probably find it with some digging!

[such_heights]

Awesome, thanks a lot!

[such_heights]

Thanks so much! And yes, after sheafrotherdon posted about it the other day I think I'm going to go ahead and order it, I know I'd like to read it as well as possibly lend it out.

[such_heights]

Thank you, I'll pass these along!

[such_heights]

Awesome, thanks so much for these! I am very happy to do some of my own googling now I have some more specific things to look for.

[axiom_of_stripe]

the only one i can recommend off the top of my head is fistful of sky by nina kiriki hoffman, warning for abusive mother punishing teen daughter for being fat but not for the character punishing herself as a teen or an adult; there's one scene where she is magicked into being much heavier and enjoys it. hmm: there's also the changewinds series by jack l. chalker, but i remember very, very little of this series -- not enough to recommend it, given the results of a quick google. those are books in which the weight of the protagonist is a plot point, which is probably why i remember them in this context; i would like to think that there must be others....