ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are so many wonderful people who have made this book possible, both directly and indirectly.

My agent, Beth Vesel, approached me about writing this book before I even imagined it possible. Her guidance and support have been invaluable throughout.

Joanna Green, my phenomenal editor at Beacon, provided crucial guidance, posed thought-provoking questions, and helped to shape this book at every step along the way. I am so incredibly fortunate to have worked with her.

Caleb Luna, Dan Lynn, Kivan Bay, Angus Maguire, Alejandro Juarez, and Gina Susanna all read early versions of this manuscript, and each provided deeply helpful feedback.

Fat community kept me grounded and connected throughout the process of writing this book about the thornier parts of our shared experiences. David McElhatton, Sophia Carter-Kahn, Sofie Hagen, Jes Baker, JerVae Dionne, Rebecca Eisenberg, Samantha Peterson, Da’Shaun Harrison, Ushshi Rahman, Nicolette Mason, Jesse Dangerously, Shilo George, Sarah Hollowell, Kristin Chirico, Rachel Kacenjar, Shannon Purser, Rebecca Alexander, and Meghan Tonjes have all been wonderful supports.

My writing wouldn’t have reached nearly the audience it has without the early support of wonderful, generous people: Dr. Roxane Gay, Dr. Lindo Bacon, Jameela Jamil and IWeigh, Mickey Boardman at Paper, Matt McGorry, Michael Hobbes at Huffington Post, Melissa Fabello, Stephanie Georgopulos at Medium, Sally Tamarkin at SELF, and Jeanie Finlay of Glimmer Films, among many others.

My friends and family put up with a lot during the writing of this book. Particular thanks to my parents, my brother, my niece and nephew, and my wonderful sister-in-law for her steady guidance throughout. Thanks, too, to Lisa, Kim, Tara, Rossi, Hill-Hart, Allyson, Olivia; to Alejandro for continually pushing me to deeper, more compassionate ways of thinking about bodies and oppression; and to Angus for telling me to start sharing my writing to begin with.

And, of course, I wouldn’t have the language for any of this without a vibrant, tenacious, decades-long movement for fat liberation. My endless gratitude to Marilyn Wann, Sonya Renee Taylor, Lesley Kinzel, Marianne Kirby, Ragen Chastain, Kate Harding, Dr. Charlotte Cooper, Dr. Cat Pausé, Evette Dionne, Paul Campos, Sondra Solovay, Shoog McDaniel, Dr. Sabrina Strings, and Stacy Bias, and to organizations such as the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH), NOLOSE (dedicated to ending the oppression of fat people and creating vibrant fat queer culture), the Fat Underground, the New Haven Fat Liberation Front, and countless more fat activists, scholars, organizations, and community leaders.