Bountiful Women: Large Women's Secrets for Living the Life They Desire - Softcover

Many web sites are devoted to "bountiful women" (size 14 plus), who, according to the foreword, comprise half of America's female population. The popular press, however, does not often address this audience, so this work is a welcome addition to the self-help shelf. Bernell, a practicing psychologist in California, encourages readers to accept their bodies and relates how to deal with parental and employer disapproval, assumptions by society (especially by airlines, theaters, and restaurants) that everyone fits into a size 12 seat, and the "If I'm large, I'm unlovable" attitude. Comparable to Marilyn Wann's Fat! So? (LJ 12/98) and Camryn Manheim's Wake Up, I'm Fat! (LJ 5/1/99), this work offers clear and practical suggestions for building self-esteem and coping with everyday problems like asking for a seatbelt extender without embarrassment. Bernell would have better served her audience, however, with a brief discussion of the health risks bountifulness poses. That qualm aside, this is recommended for public libraries.DMargaret Cardwell, Georgia Perimeter Coll., Clarkston
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.