A frank, funny and intelligent memoir about body image, weight and a question every woman has pondered: how do you define normal?

When Anne Putnam had weight-loss surgery at the age of seventeen, she thought her whole life would change. Nine years later and ten sizes smaller, she's still facing down the monster in the mirror, and she's finally starting to understand that changing your body doesn't necessarily change how you feel about it.


Navel Gazingis the no-holds-barred story of one woman's physical and mental journey from morbidly obese to unpleasantly plump, with all the stops along the way: the funny, the painful, and the downright awkward.

In the tradition of Nora Ephron, Elizabeth Gilbert and William Leith, Navel Gazing will make you laugh, cry, and cringe - and give you strength if you ever get stuck in a dress in a changing room.