Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl

by Rachel M. Thomas

Fat girl problems.

Derided by her high-school peers for being overweight, Rachel finally found a sense of purpose and belonging in a promising career as an EMT—that is, until her body got in the way.

Shrink is a work of graphic medicine that depicts the emotional and physical realities of inhabiting a large body in a world that is constantly warning about the medical and social dangers of being “too fat.” This smart and candid book challenges the idea that weight loss is the only path for a fat person and encourages the reader to question the prevailing cultural and medical discourse about fat bodies.

Seamlessly weaving the most current research on the fatness debate with her own experiences of living in a fat body, Thomas lays bare society’s obsession with size and advocates for each of us to push back on body weight bias and determine what’s right for our own health and well-being, both physical and mental.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Memoir, Nonfiction, Womens, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Health

188 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2024

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This material is totally relatable for me, but gosh if it also didn't mostly bore me.

The first problem is that while this book presents itself as a graphic novel, it's really one of those illustrated stories where the pages consist of big blocks of text dropped around one to five images that are rarely sequential.

The narrative voice is so intensely inward that the author barely lets anyone else into the story. Her mother is mentioned a couple times, a string of doctors wander through, and a boyfriend turns up, but they never become full characters. They are just paper-thin sketches that serve the inner monologue being served up in the giant captions, occasionally saying a sentence that the author can then spend a page or two reacting to internally.

Basic information seems to be missing. For instance, she talks about the hours she devotes to exercising and dieting, but never once mentions where the money to pay for her gym membership and trainers comes from or how she manages her life around this time drain. The only mention of employment I noticed is a job she quits in the prologue before her weight loss journey.

The artwork is fairly decent, but the author has a tendency to drop in some unnecessary lines on limbs or faces. This reaches a nadir in the way she depicts Black people. I just really disliked the swath of black she drew around the edges of their faces or on their cheeks while leaving the center of the faces untouched. This is Oprah Winfrey:


The original images:





Contents: Prologue -- Fat Girl Problems No. 1 -- The Walk -- Fat Girl Problems No. 2 -- The War on Obesity -- Fat Girl Problems No. 3 -- Fat Shame -- Fat Girl Problems No. 4. -- Doctors -- Fat Girl Problems No. 5 -- Fear -- Fat Girl Problems No. 6. -- The Monster -- Fat Girl Problems No. 7. -- Fat Phobia -- Fat Girl Problems No. 8 -- Skin -- Fat Girl Problems No. 9 -- Desire -- Fat Girl Problems No. 10 -- Body Positive -- Fat Girl Problems No. 11 -- Obsession -- Fat Girl Problems No. 12 -- Diet Culture -- Fat Girl Problems No. Thoughts -- Epilogue -- Notes

[Marijne Van Boeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Maybe what’s really normal is everything that makes us abnormal. The quirks, the snorting laugh, the way we eat, how many scars dot our bodies. Maybe normal isn’t having the beauty standard body, or the one we’re expected to want.’

This is an easy five star read for an amazing graphic novel about struggling as a fat/plussize woman. Every topic gets discussed: weight bias in the medical field, assumptions by strangers and family, intimacy and relationships, the struggle to find clothing, activism and the history of fat liberation, dieting and exercising, …

This graphic novel really hits home for me and touched me in a way I didn’t know I needed. Thank you Rachel for creating this book in a way that it could speak to everyone.

[Diana Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mix of personal memoir and researched information. Sometimes a little too heavy on the researched portion, and overuse of words in ALL CAPITALS to stress a point.

ARC provided by the published through Edelweiss. Publication date: October 29. 2024

[Laura Starzynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a memoir, I didn't feel like this went deep enough into the author's own story and vulnerabilities. Not that I'm owed that, as a reader, but given the subject matter, it felt almost basic and generic.

I did like the art and the fact the author cited her sources. I also feel like this book would potentially help people, or at least get some to question beauty standards and the diet industry. So I'm bumping up the rating a bit.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to like this more than I did. I finished it in one sitting because it was good, but I wanted a deeper dive. Great reading nonetheless!

[Zephorah Dove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the DRC.

I enjoyed this take on addressing how harmful weight loss can be when it’s done for the wrong reason. We all truly do have a choice, although society will make it seem like we don’t.

This was a very relatable story and reading it made me feel good about my current trajectory and thoughts on what is healthy and isn’t. I also loved the illustrations and inclusion of references for more historical events.

Solid 4/5 for me.

[tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really relatable experience

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I’ve read about fatphobia.

[Cody Roecker]

important, relatable, if yet a bit boring but very real

[Jose Angel Guevara Velasco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m really happy that the author choose to go to therapy, it seems like it’s been super fruitful for her. However I still feel like most of her observations are a bit dated, I really see this making a killing ten years ago. When these sort of conversations about weight were encouraged and promoted across progressive/liberal media. While I see her making some interesting points about the ways bodies are perceived in a highly competitive and cutthroat world, she still doesn’t address the obesity epidemic across North America and the poison that our food is littered with. Or how it can be used as a weapon in marginalized communities.

The book is just super neoliberal, I liked some of that artwork tho. I think this book would be really useful in a fat camp or a rehab for eating disorders. Otherwise it just feels very “my trauuuummmma”…

I do think the author has a lot of potential. I’m interested to see what she does next.

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.

This was a bit too text heavy at times for me (and since I had to read it on my PC it wasn't always fun for me), I wouldn't have minded it that much if it was text about our girl and her diet, but it was also very textbook-esque heavy with lots of stuff about diet culture, diets, masculine gaze, and many other things. My eyes just glazed over at many points and I either had to re-read or just be like, well, my brain doesn't want this so let's go on.
I did like many things, the art was good, I liked reading about our girl's journey and see both her past and how she is doing now (and was definitely rooting for her to find happiness), I loved the people who tried to help her out, loved the dash of romance at the end. All in all, despite it being a bit text-heavy, I still would recommend this one.

[Kira Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this in one sitting and by the end, I was feeling very uplifted as well as educated! I feel like this was a very original story-telling style that I, personally, have never seen. I think it encompassed a lot of important and often looked-over social contexts when it comes to fatness. Good read, I'm very glad I picked it up. Thank you Edelweiss!

[Emily]

As a certified Fat Person, I have a Lot of thoughts about this book. I don’t feel like typing a 5,000 word essay about it though, so I’m going to leave it unrated for now. I may write a few thoughts later.

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Derided by her high-school peers for being overweight, Rachel finally found a sense of purpose and belonging in a promising career as an EMT—that is, until her body got in the way.

Shrink is a work of graphic medicine that depicts the emotional and physical realities of inhabiting a large body in a world that is constantly warning about the medical and social dangers of being “too fat.” This smart and candid book challenges the idea that weight loss is the only path for a fat person and encourages the reader to question the prevailing cultural and medical discourse about fat bodies.

Seamlessly weaving the most current research on the fatness debate with her own experiences of living in a fat body, Thomas lays bare society’s obsession with size and advocates for each of us to push back on body weight bias and determine what’s right for our own health and well-being, both physical and mental.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I spent a lot of my life "fat" and had to endure much verbal abuse for it.






The struggles in this graphic memoir were all too familiar to me, and I do not mean the ones about dieting.

I mean the comments...whether well-intentioned or just meant to be slyly insulting in that un-call-out-able way so many passive-aggressive or simply unpleasant people enjoy so much...that freely pepper even the simplest conversations. I mean the looks of horror or disgust aimed one's way by strangers. I mean the earnest, ill-informed "advice" about eating from medical professionals, or goddesses please protect us from such malevolence, dietitians *shudder* with their irrelevant portion-control mantra.

I mean the perpetrators of The Whale . I mean you, every time you've said something off-handedly about how big a celebrity has gotten, and what a shame it is because they were so hot before. Or how funny it was that time Courteney Cox put on a fat suit to be young, fat, unattractive Monica on Friends.

Stop it. If you need a reason (other than not being a jerk), read Rachel's story. She lived it, and came out of the experience with a fine education, a clear eye, and an academic career about social issues like this. If a young giftee of yours, especially but not exclusively a girl of a vulnerable age, is struggling with weight as a social issue, this is a good resource to offer; not a gift, unless specifically requested, though.

Even if it's just a sensitization exercise for you, or another person in your young soul's ambit, it's a very worthwhile gift to share with them.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the creator of this book too fat for? The beach? Social media? Suing Lyft? No. It's being a paramedic. A class-beater when it comes to the book study, she finds the physical elements of the training just too much, and has to quit. Looking around she finds she is a subject of a war. There is a battle where on the one side is her being too visible, too easily-judged, and on the other side is her being invisible, too easily scorned, glossed over and forgotten. Because she's not normal, and ought to shed some pounds. But when she sheds and sheds and sheds, in a one-person war against fat, which side is she really fighting for?

This is a gentle read, all told – gently reminding us to look inwards for clues, not to doctors with their cockamamie BMI stats that – certainly if IQ measures smartness in the 'wrong' way – definitely tells us health in the wrong way, too. It's gently showing us the creator and her current state, of one more diet, one more fitness regime, and one more unsatisfying result.

For yes, it could have been stuffed with figures, data, the diet industry profits left, right and centre and so on. It's not. It's a brief, light memoir, gently allowing a lot of blank space to show the contours of our MC as they diminish, and she finds love. And damn me for thinking there would be an unhappy ending to that. We don't get the ending of that side-story, we don't see if any serious juvenile issues did alter anyone's eating habits, we just see the progress of this latest anti-fat war, and get reminded very nicely that, like so many wars, things ain't always cut-and-dried.

There is the quietest, gentlest shout for post-diet programmes to be just as important as dieting, but the biggest roar here is that which questions whether weight reduction needs to be seen as so bloody important all the time. The 'over'weight get gifted so many aspersions about their looks, size, knowledge and smarts that they could eat out on them forever, if they were any damn use. Many people would know something like this, and I guess this is a book that does preach to the converted, as opposed to those who really need to learn the most from it. But I hope it does get seen widely – it really can be the most delicious food for thought. Four and a half stars.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel is fat. Worse, she's too fat. Judged too fat by so many including peers, doctors, and society at large, Rachel finds a way to channel herself into a passion: becoming an EMT. However, her body proves to not be up to the task. She later channels herself into losing weight--something she's been told to do for ages. She works out for hours every week and slashes her calorie count. She begins to lose weight, but it was taking a huge toll on her mental health and the pace at which she was losing weight as well as the means she was using were far too rapid for her health. In the end, Rachel realizes that what is truly freeing is everyone being able to decide what is right for their body and their health (both physical and mental).

Throughout Shrink, author Rachel M. Thomas tells her story of being fat while incorporating research into fatness which adds even more depth to her story. Thomas's artwork is evocative, emotional, and deeply felt. Overall, Shrink is a welcome exploration of fatness.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drawings are modern, just black and white, no extra lines, such as hatching. The bibliography includes articles covering decades as history of fat perception is included. Much thought-provoking concepts are covered. For extremely overweight people, there's no easy way to lose. The author worked very hard and ended up becoming obsessed with working out and starving. Inevitably, she ended up hospitalized. Not mentioned is that young, couples wanting to start a family, need to rethink the SAD first. Children, who grew up with this diet, are doomed to a lifetime of poor health markers. It's hard to relearn and change. Also, not mentioned, is that geography is destiny. With certain areas of the USA raising healthy aware children and others who covet fat centric celebratory meals constantly. Also, not mentioned is aging and metabolism. So, there's much biographical and research material here, and this is a vast subject. More reading, research, action, and empathy could make a difference for individuals. One might wish to become healthy and, also, have more empathy towards others.

[Vered · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5

This book was decent. The art was mostly ok, some of the art was really nice but over all a little underwhelming. The content of the book itself was also pretty good, I think its a necessary conversation that we need to be having. It faces the ideas of fad diets, the history of fat vs skinny and how it changed, overconsumption of the female body in media, and the oversexualization of plus sized bodies. It felt like while this information was very important, the author kept hand feeding it to me over and over again, almost as if they assumed the audience needed it literally spelled out to an extreme extent. As a plus sized person I understand how it feels to not be heard by people who don't understand the same issues, but I don't think hand feeding the same info over and over and over is going to get through to anyone. I didn't hate this book, but I wasn't exactly in love with it either.

[Janjulee Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl is a compelling first novel by Dr. Rachel Thomas that blends anthropology, history, and her personal narrative to explore the cultural perceptions of “fatness”. Her novel highlights how our societal standards impact our biases and perceptions of health; Thomas examines how body image is shaped by history and influenced by modern culture. Dr. Thomas’s journey is interwoven throughout, pairing raw discourse about living in a world obsessed with weight, with stunning graphics, created by Dr. Thomas herself!
I loved this book and finished it in one sitting. As a medical student and future healthcare professional, it made me reflect on the intersections of weight and health, body image, and self-acceptance. I loved the references and nod to historical medicine.
I can’t wait to see her next project!

[Hannah Kotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was 100% relatable content for me given how much of the author’s story as a fat woman aligns with my own. The story was a solid mix of research and personal anecdotes but it is in no way a memoir. She’d have had to let us in for that to be the case. It’s also unfortunate how dated the material and celebrity examples now feel. Lizzo is used as an example for being active in a fat body but since the novel was published she’s gone on to lose a ton of weight. Obviously not something I dock the author for, that’s just the nature of using celebrity examples, but it made me chuckle knowing the ways society has moved on from the moment of fat “acceptance” we had.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho boy, this graphic novel was hard for me to read because so much of it hit *so close* to home. I've been on such similar journey's as the authors, but it's hard because where she ends finding some sort of peace with it all, I still have not. Anyways, I was totally engrossed in this, finished it in one sitting, and I highly recommend for pretty much everyone to read it-to at least start to help understand what people with fat bodies go through.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this graphic novel, we meet a woman who has always struggled with her weight. She joins a gym and starts to eat better and begins to lose weight, which changes her life. The book goes into a lot of preaching about fat people and their role in society, which was definitely a point that needs to be hammered in, but I wish the book had spent more time telling the story of our narrator and less about the obesity epidemic.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black and white art with pink accents, weight loss, body dysmorphia, diet culture, pressures on women, beauty standards

Thomas tells the story of her 100+ pound weight loss and her lifelong struggles with body issues. As a non-fat person, but one who also struggles with body issues, I found this read interesting but a little preachy at times but overall it rang true to the experiences of many women.

[Kate Thorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information, but I really didn't like the art style. That's just an artistic critique though. The memior and analysis part of this book is pretty good. I think it would have been stronger if the surgery had more space to flesh out the ideas she was reflecting on. Also -0.5 stars for lack of hand lettering.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating based on my reaction to the reading, not the authors’ experiences. I wasn’t expecting the historical facts to be sprinkled in as strongly as they were. I wanted more about her experiences and the struggles with her ED. As someone with an ED and ED-tendencies, I found this super relatable and heartbreaking. Lots of internal thoughts brought to the surface for me.

[Katie Midgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS. Great commentary on the fucked up world we live in with all its insane beauty standards and how it's up to us each individually to make our own decisions about what is healthy for our own bodies.

[Kelly Dienes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh this just didn't work for me. Although there is some valuable info about the realities in which weight relates to health. I also remember needing to know my BMI for high school gym and feeling fucked up about it, maybe let's not subject kids to this nonsense

[⟢ mirela ⟢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

As a fat girl who grew up fat & was bullied for it, I found this book very relatable. I like that it’s a graphic novel because otherwise it would have been too boring for me. I did enjoy the history sprinkled in but I really wish the author let us into her head a little bit more.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! So much that people can relate to. I definitely struggle with my weight and self-esteem and this book was a wonderful journey of self-discovery. There was no glossing over the struggle.

[devynreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars