So, there are a lot of people I admire and want to write about (including you guys), and I will, but today there are three in particular who are on my mind.
The first is Valerie Frankel. She's a writer who has written some of my favorite books (mystery, chick-lit, and YA), as well as magazine articles (she posed nude for "Self" last year and became one of my heroes), but her latest book is a memoir. It's called "Thin Is The New Happy," and it's about her struggles with weight, body image, and how she finally learned to face her demons. I think she may believe I'm stalking her, and I guess I am, in a read-everything-she-writes-and-comment-on-Amazon-about-it way. And I'll email her sometimes to tell her how much I enjoyed something she's written.
Hmmmm. Maybe I AM a stalker?!
Yikes! I need a new hobby. (I don't think worrying counts as a hobby.)
Anyway. If you have a chance, pick up the book and give it a read. It's pretty awesome.
The second person is Margaret Cho. She's a comedian/actress and has a reality show on VH1 called, oddly enough, "The Cho Show." She also released a concert film about 9 years ago called "I'm The One That I Want" which is hilarious and sad and maddening. There's a bit about how she was treated on her sitcom from the early 90's called "All American Girl" that is just unbelievable. She was screamed at by producers to lose weight and ended up going on a crash diet and lost 30 pounds very quickly, which sent her into a downward spiral for years.
About 5 or so years ago she gave up dieting and now loves her body. She also inspires other Asian-American performers to fight against the stereotypes Hollywood still propagates. She's amazing.
Finally, there's my brother. He works for a government agency, has been helping our mother with all the stuff going on with our dad and all the practical stuff (paying bills, grocery shopping), and last week he flew home to Houston to be there with his wife during Ike. (They're all OK. My niece is in school in S. Carolina, out of the path of the storm. The dogs were scared, but made it through.) In a few days they will pack up their car and drive from Houston to Boston (The dogs are going with them!) to stay with Mom.
When I was there, feeling guilty for having to leave after a few days, he said "Don't worry about being here all the time. You need to be with your kids."
He also just spent 3 months in a bunker in Iraq. He can't talk about what he did, but he did say that their work caught some bad guys before they could do more harm.
All this, and he still plays on the ground with the pups, kvells over my kids, and acts like a 6 year-old when his daughter is home and they go swimming.
He's my hero.
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3 comments:
Awww! What a great list! I had considered reading Frankel's book but one review I read called it a "weight loss memoir" - a genre I usually try to avoid since it makes the crazy voices scream in my head. But maybe it's not?
Your tribute to your brother was very moving. Many wishes for his continued safety.
She does detail some of the crazy diets she's been on, but it's more about how she finally learned to stop dieting. (And that was when she lost 15 pounds.)
love the diversity in the list!
I wanna read Valerie's new book she's a great, super funny writer.
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