Born Round

Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater by Frank Bruni
Adult memoir

A lot of my friends have read this book and really loved it. They are all foodies, however. I love memoirs and I eat food (but am by NO means a foodie), but I thought I'd give it a go.

This is Frank's memoir told through the lens of food and body image. Food was always an important part of Frank's Italian heritage and he was always a voracious eater--the combination proved to be less than ideal for his body. He has struggled his entire life with his self-esteem and body image. This is the story of that struggle, from chubby, to fit, to fat and ultimately to healthy. Frank writes with humor, modesty and honesty about his crazy diets, his stint with bulimia, his binge eating, his exercise routines--all the while giving us marvelous descriptions of the meals consumed as well as the steady and impressive trajectory of his writing career. By the time he becomes a restaurant critic at the New York Times, Frank is ready to put his love of food, his determination to remain fit and healthy, as well as his superior writing skills all together in one bag. A lovely memoir.