NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Comedian Ian Karmel, with help from his sister, Dr. Alisa Karmel, opens up about the daily humiliations of being fat and why it’s so hard to talk about something so visible.
“As charming and funny as it is poignant and thoughtful.”—Roxane Gay, author of Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
Ian Karmel has weighed eight pounds and he has weighed 420 pounds and right now he’s almost exactly in between the two, but this book is not a weight-loss book. It’s about being a fat person in a skinny world. It’s about gym class and football practice, about chicken wings and juice cleanses, about airplane seats and roller coasters, about fat jokes and Jabba the Hutt, about crying in the Big and Tall section and the joys of being a sneakerhead, about prediabetes and gout, and about realizing that you actually don’t want to eat yourself to death and hoping it’s not too late.
This book also includes a “What Now?” section from Ian’s sister, Alisa, who herself cycled through so many fad diets that she eventually pursued a master’s in nutrition and a doctorate in psychology with the goal of changing the contemporary narrative around fatness.
Ian and Alisa Karmel grew up fat. As kids, they never talked about it. They were too busy fighting over the last SnackWell’s Devil’s Food cookie. Now, decades later, having both turned into fat adults who eventually figured out how to get their health under control, they are finally ready to unpack the impact that their weight has had on them.
For them, the T-Shirt Swim Club is meant to be a place of support for anyone who struggles with weight issues. A place of care and candor, free of shame. A place to not deny or avoid the emotions you feel, the experiences you go through, the embarrassment, the anger, the resentment. T-Shirt Swim Club is about being a fat person and how the world treats fat people—but also an acknowledgment that maybe it doesn’t always have to feel quite so lonely.
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The T-Shirt Swim Club is a must-read for everyone, regardless of whether they are a member or not. I recommend this book for parents, teachers, those who work with children, and anyone who used to be a child. Ian’s description of his toxic relationship with his body is vulnerable, real, and painful. Dr. Alisa Karmel offers important, research-backed advice about how to navigate a world filled with weight-stigma and diet culture from the perspective of someone who truly understands the pain that accompanies Ian’s journey. I cannot possibly recommend this book more.
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Jennifer Harriger, PhD, professor of psychology, Seaver College, Pepperdine University