I’m Not the New Me

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 I’m Not the New Me takes a hilarious and sometimes poignant look at the absurdities of weight loss culture. It’s a memoir of the author’s struggle to define herself both online and in the flesh. As a self-proclaimed dieting fat girl, she traces her journey in uneasy steps leading her to a karaoke stage in Vegas, a scale at a garage sale, a Weight Watchers meeting in a bleak office basement, and finally to her website Poundy.com, the universe she created for herself when she couldn’t see herself as a kicky Success Story.

I’m Not the New Me  is about coming to terms with a family heritage of fat and drastic surgeries, and about self-esteem issues that are nobody’s business but your own. It’s about wondering what’s left of yourself after you lose weight—and just who the hell you are if you gain it back.

Reviews and Praise:

“A brave, bittersweet look at weight, loss, and elusive happy endings. If you’ve ever shopped in the big-girl ghetto, endured a bad boyfriend, or tried to count a vodka-and-cranberry as a Weight Watcher fruit, I’m Not the New Me is for you.” —Jennifer Weiner

“I’m Not the New Me is the hilarious, painfully honest, totally compelling, (surprisingly) suspenseful and strangely comforting story of a girl trying to  lose a few pounds and not disappear in the process.” —Jennifer Belle

 “Wendy McClure writes about eating, and not eating, without resorting to the wretched, aspirational blather of diet speak. Her prose is ruthless, tender, and totally addictive. If you really want to lose weight, read this book—you’ll laugh your ass off.” —Steve Almond

 “It’s hard not to fantasize about what it would be like if Wendy McClure were your best friend…She writes like the funniest, smartest, most acid-tongued version of yourself—the one you hope will come out after a few cocktails, but rarely ever does.” —BUST Magazine

 “In this funny, likeable memoir, McClure offers sardonic commentary on her struggle to shed pounds…An encouraging, spirited book.” —Publishers Weekly

 “Wicked…impressive…elegant…McClure’s book offers a snapshot of a life that’s internalized, externalized, conflicted, single, utterly modern, funny as hell and, yes, fat.” —New York Newsday

 “I’m Not the New Me is a hoot—when it’s not heartbreaking. McClure’s voice is unconventional and unafraid.” —Hartford Courant

 “Inspiring, heartwarming, and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time, this debut offers a distinctive look into the growing blogosphere through a voice that shines.” —Library Journal

 “There is no self-pity, self-hate or perky self-help, just the thoughts of a really astute writer. McClure is able to craft lines so funny and caustic that readers of all shapes and genres should go back to savor them.” —USA Today

 “The great American obesity epidemic has given rise to its own literary subgenre. This wicked, paradoxically lean example chronicles McClure’s overeating, her love-hate cycles with Weight Watchers, her rationalizations. And what it’s like to binge, postbreakup, on hamburger buns sprayed with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! I’m Not the New Me is, in every way, tastier and more filling than that. And so much better for you.” —Time