THE DIETER by Susan Sussman

Although quite an old book, written in 1989, I have never come across this particular author before.

This was an easy read, very lighthearted and smooth flowing text with plenty of humour.

The story centres around Barbara Avers, a 105 pd, heavy smoking mother of 2, whose best friend dies of lung cancer. As a tribute to her friend, she makes a pledge to quit smoking.
Suddely she finds herself addicted to and obsessed with food, something that never really attracted her before. She can't seem to stop herself cramming everything that she lays her eyes on into her mouth and almost overnight, the pounds begin to pile on...

At first the extra 10 pds are just a trifling nuisance, she'll soon get rid of them, her clothes are a bit tighter than before, but she's not concerned, she'll just cut down on dessert... Her husband, a lawyer who is running for Congress and is increasingly busy with his campaigning is home less and less and pays her less and less attention, her children treat her with disdain and then downright embarrassment as her weight increases, she feels less and less attractive as she flits from Weightwatchers and consequent diet and exercise programmes with no success and all the time fighting that all consuming craving for a cigarette.

Her old boss asks her to come back to work, she is a Journalist who previously had a very successful column in a newspaper, and she agrees, not very willingly, and there she meets Mac, a crime reporter who does'nt seem to notice or care about the fact that she now weighs 150 pds.

As she struggles to regain her husband's attention, she begins to realise that all is not well in their
marriage, also, she starts to find discrepancies in the way her husband is running his campaign.

This is a book for everyone who has ever struggled to loose a few extra pounds, who has felt that sinking depression when they can't find anything in their wardrobe that fits or isn't too tight, who knows the temptation of an extra helping of food, who steps on the scale every morning hoping for a miracle. So the big question is... is their life after size 8?

You will feel every step of Barbara's pain and anguish as you read this book, and laugh with her as she copes with these problems and more, all the way to the very satisfying ending.

Happy reading!