Ruby Gettinger is the star of her own series on the style network. At her highest weight she weighed over 700 pounds. At the time this book was published she had lost half or more of that, and she has done it with diet and exercise rather than surgery. She has good reasons for her choice. First of all, she is terrified of going under anesthesia. More importantly, she doesn't think the surgery would teach her anything about how to live more healthily. It is remarkable that she has kept her determination, despite times of great stress, such as the death of her beloved father.

Becoming diabetic and having it so badly out of control the doctors told her it could kill her anytime scared her enough to be able to change her life totally. Part of learning how to live more healthily is keeping a journal, and the book is a compilation of some of the journal entries that have meant the most to her and to her readers.

Ruby is not only fearless in making such radical changes in her eating and exercise habits, but in facing up to the psychological factors that led her into such horrific weight gain. She remembers little of her childhood, but had great relationships with both of her parents. She is convinced there was some trauma in her childhood, but hasn't yet been able to remember it. I suspect she is right, she has many symptoms of someone who has been abused. I also suspect, given the amount of pain she went through over the breakup of a relationship, that she has borderline personality disorder, which I also have. It makes her journey even more remarkable.

The book is a short, easy read, but a remarkable story of a courageous journey. It also has a good though short list of resources in the end. I read it hoping it would inspire me to make similar changes in my own life. It hasn't yet, but I still have hope the inspiration will come. It may come by watching her show, which I've never seen.

Highly recommended work for those dealing with weight issues. ( )