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Summary
Summary
The weight of their family secrets could not have shaped Pearl and Ruby Crenshaw any differently. Ruby's a runner, living in Dallas and only reluctantly talking to their mother, Birdie, when she calls from prison. Pearl is still living in her mother's fixer-upper and finds herself facing a line in the sand- her weight is threatening to kill her. She's hundreds of pounds beyond the point where she can celebrate her curves or benefit from the body positivity movement, and unless she takes drastic action, the future looks dire.
But when Ruby's buried rage explodes in a hilariously viral way, the mistake has life-altering consequences that throw the sisters back into living under the same roof as they try to put back together the pieces of their lives. Funny, cinematic and bursting with heart, this is a story of hope and redemption that celebrates the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Author Notes
A native Texan, former journalist Wendy Willis Baldwin graduated from Texas Tech University. She's an empty nester who lives in the DC area. Her my professional background includes broadcasting and marketing. She hosts a podcast called Life After Fat Pants with her sister.
Reviews (2)
Booklist Review
Pearl and Ruby Crenshaw were always each other's biggest fans growing up, but over time, secrets, resentment, and trauma have driven them apart. Ruby deals with her issues by becoming tightly wound, in control, and polished, with a high-powered job in Dallas. But Pearl's trauma and depression lead her to remain stagnant in their childhood home in Austin, slowly becoming obese. When Pearl sees the number on the scale reach 531 pounds, she decides it's time to take action and change her life, but she's going to need Ruby's help. Luckily, Ruby is available after an unexpectedly viral moment leaves her jobless. This book echoes the real-life relationship between the author and her sister, who herself once weighed 531 pounds before her life-changing bariatric surgery. The writing here is very sharp, and the plot resolves easily, in a pleasing way. Readers will be eager for more from this debut author. Recommend this to fans of Jennifer Weiner or Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters.
Library Journal Review
DEBUT Long-held childhood secrets send one sister into a life of angry denial and the other sister finding her salvation in food. Twenty-nine-year-old Pearl Crenshaw is told by a bariatric surgeon that she may not live to see her 40th birthday if she does not take drastic measures to reduce her weight. At 531 pounds, everything from moving to sleeping has become a struggle for her. Willing to endure the quick temper and sharp criticisms from her estranged older sister Ruby, Pearl turns to her only family member who's available for help. With the impending surgery and recovery, the two sisters are given a chance to reconnect and salvage their once close relationship. Life After Fat Pants podcaster Baldwin based her fiction debut on her relationship with her younger sister. The story is slightly off-balance with the protagonist Pearl much more developed than Ruby and the other supporting characters. VERDICT While technical descriptions detract from emotional build-ups, Baldwin's debut still offers an insightful and empathetic view into the daily struggles of living with obesity. A solid entry for titles with plus-sized heroines.--Joy Gunn
