In this “big-hearted triumph of a novel” (Carolyn Parkhurst, New York Times bestselling author) for fans of Jennifer Weiner, seven women enrolled in an extreme weight loss documentary discover self-love and sisterhood as they enact a daring revenge against the exploitative filmmakers.
Alice and Daphne, both successful and accomplished working mothers, harbor the same secret: obsession with their weight overshadows concerns about their children, husbands, work—and everything else of importance in their lives.
Daphne, plump in a family of model-thin women, discovered early that only slimness earns admiration. Alice, break-up skinny when she met her husband, risks losing her marriage if she keeps gaining weight.
The two women meet at Waisted. Located in a remote Vermont mansion, the program promises fast, dramatic weight loss, and Alice, Daphne, and five other women are desperate enough to leave behind their families for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The catch? They must agree to always be on camera; afterward, the world will see Waisted: The Documentary.
But the women soon discover that the filmmakers have trapped them in a cruel experiment. With each pound lost, they edge deeper into obsession and instability...until they decide to take matters into their own hands.
Randy Susan Meyers “spins a compelling tale” (Kirkus Reviews) and “delivers a timely examination of body image, family, friendship, and what it means to be a woman in modern society...Culturally inclusive and societally on point, this is a must-read” (Library Journal).
“This novel, about the lengths women will go to lose weight, gave me so much to think about in terms of how I think about weight and how I can let it control my life. The idea that a number on a scale can change my mood is ridiculous and yet dead-on. In this novel, Alice and Daphne go to a weight-loss retreat that is a documentary experiment in disguise. They are shamed, put through devastating workouts on little food, and plied with pills. As difficult as it was for me to watch them go through this, I had to think, “Yeah, I might do the same.” Meyers does such a great job capturing the mindset of these women and how society views them. There’s so much more to this novel–how race plays into body expectations; the examples we do or do not provide for our own children; family dynamics–and I’ll be thinking about it for a good long time. I think this is novel looks at some important topics but disguises them in this amazingly readable and engaging novel. I had to see how it would end! This would be an excellent book club novel as there is so much great stuff in here to discuss!” —Jennifer Brown, USA Bestselling Author of Modern Girls
“I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t worried about my weight, trying to lose it, trying to hide it. I still am. But what I found in Waisted was more valuable than almost any other advice or lessons about weight loss I’ve ever read. The story of two women, Waisted is about what lengths women will go to lose weight, what happens when you’re pushed beyond humiliation, pain, and fear, survive it, and move towards a happier life. The women of Waisted are real, flawed, but completely relatable and lovely characters. I saw so much of myself and women I know, not only in the protagonists but in family and friends. This book pushed so many emotional buttons for me, but Randy Susan Meyer’s writing is stunning, her storytelling both compassionate and compelling. Waisted is about so much more than weight loss. It’s about learning about yourself and learning to love yourself, step by (sometimes tiny) step. An excellent and empathetic read for, as MJ Rose is quoted saying “every woman who ever stepped on the scale with her eyes closed. And every woman who hasn’t.” —Tildy Banker-Johnson, Belmont Books Manager
