Acknowledgments

I would be lost without the endless love and support of my husband, William Tucker. You’re the velociraptor of my heart, honey, and I love your face. This book wouldn’t exist without the friendship and constant support of Angelo Muredda, who so many years ago told me, “It’s OK to get mad.” Thanks for always being mad with me, Angelo.

I have been sustained and buoyed throughout my life by my friends and family. There are too many of you to list, but I have to specifically mention a few. My sister, Gina Manfredi, my best blood friend. My best besties, throughout it all: Whitney Holland, Elliot Williams, and Mike Doidge. My legendary library girls: Ashley McLendon, Heather Moore, Karen Rowell, Lori Schexnayder, and Erin Waller. My Raton crew, thirty years and counting: Daniel Esquibel, Dave Pacheco, Rainbeaux Trujillo, and Dori Yob Kilmer. And of course all my #DiversityJedi—who make me do the work.

This all started with Twitter—can you imagine? This book began because of a dream and a tweet from Dahlia Adler; I am forever in her debt. Thank you also to Tess Sharpe and Preeti Chhibber for their eyes on this at the very beginning. And I am thankful for my agent and old pal, Barry Goldblatt, who believes in my voice and also laughs at the same stuff as me. That’s really important.

The book you are holding looks so amazing due in no small part to the unerring eyes of Hana Anouk Nakamura and Lisa Tegtmeier; I am grateful for their brilliance. And you wouldn’t be holding this book at all without the work and energy poured into it by Jessica Gotz and my editor, Anne Heltzel. Anne believed in this book from the beginning, and I am grateful she saw LARGE things in me and this title.

Finally: thank you to every fat contributor in this book, for walking this road and holding a hand out. And to every fat person who has put on the crop top, walked a red carpet, kept their head up high in the face of jeers, who has fought for their dignity, even in quiet ways, you have made all this possible.