I have always been heaver than I should be or at least I have felt that way since High School. I don’t think I actually was overweight or obese until after I had my son.
As soon as I saw Big Girl published by Danielle Steel and what the main character went through as a child. I knew Big Girl would be a novel I had to read. Even though my parents wasn’t like hers and have never said anything about my weight.
Until last year when my dad said I needed to lose weight after I had been working hard to do just that and everyone else was noticing my weight loss and how well I had done.
Fast forward to this year and I have gained all the weight I had lost back. My New Years resolutions went out the window. It’s the 3rd of February. I am not doing anything to lose this weight I need to lose.
All I am doing is sinking back into the depression I suffer from. No, one can change this but me. I decided it was time for a wake up call. I purchased Big Girl and after seeing all she went through.
I have decided its time I change things in my life I don’t like. I will not depend on anyone other than myself to get this done. I can and will get up from this computer and work out on the treadmill each day.
As well as get outside and walk even if I have to do it by myself. Part of my depression is being inside and not getting outside. Hiding from the world and not wanting to talk to anyone or for anyone to see me.
I would like to thank Danielle Steel for writing Big Girl not only for women like me but for anyone who has struggled from anything at all. Big Girl is a novel which can change peoples lives if they take the time to read it and listen to what the book is telling us.
About the Book:
In this heartfelt and incisive new novel, Danielle Steel celebrates the virtues of unconventional beauty while exploring deeply resonant issues of weight, self-image, sisterhood, and family.
A chubby little girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and ordinary looks, Victoria Dawson has always felt out of place in her family, especially in body-conscious L.A. Her father, Jim, is tall and slender, and her mother, Christina, is a fine-boned, dark-haired beauty. Both are self-centered, outspoken, and disappointed by their daughter’s looks. When Victoria is six, she sees a photograph of Queen Victoria, and her father has always said she looks just like her. After the birth of Victoria’s perfect younger sister, Gracie, her father liked to refer to his firstborn as “our tester cake.” With Gracie, everyone agreed that Jim and Christina got it right.
While her parents and sister can eat anything and not gain an ounce, Victoria must watch everything she eats, as well as endure her father’s belittling comments about her body and see her academic achievements go unacknowledged. Ice cream and oversized helpings of all the wrong foods give her comfort, but only briefly. The one thing she knows is that she has to get away from home, and after college in Chicago, she moves to New York City.
Landing her dream job as a high school teacher, Victoria loves working with her students and wages war on her weight at the gym. Despite tension with her parents, Victoria remains close to her sister. And though they couldn’t be more different in looks, they love each other unconditionally. But regardless of her accomplishments, Victoria’s parents know just what to say to bring her down. She will always be her father’s “big girl,” and her mother’s constant disapproval is equally unkind.
When Grace announces her engagement to a man who is an exact replica of their narcissistic father, Victoria worries about her sister’s future happiness, and with no man of her own, she feels like a failure once again. As the wedding draws near, a chance encounter, an act of stunning betrayal, and a family confrontation lead to a turning point.
Behind Victoria is a lifetime of hurt and neglect she has tried to forget, and even ice cream can no longer dull the pain. Ahead is a challenge and a risk: to accept herself as she is, celebrate it, and claim the victories she has fought so hard for and deserves. Big girl or not, she is terrific and discovers that herself.
About Danielle Steel
Danielle Steel has sold 650 million copies of her books internationally, and every one of her books is a bestseller. She is published in 69 countries and 43 languages.
Steel’s latest novel is Turning Point. Other recent bestsellers include Beauchamp Hall, In His Father’s Footsteps, The Good Fight, The Cast, Past Perfect, all of which have leapt to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, the Wall Street Journal list, and comparable best seller lists around the world.
Steel has written more than 170 books, 146 of which are novels; 18 children’s books, including Pretty Minnie in Hollywood and Pretty Minnie in Paris about her white long-hair teacup Chihuahua; four works of nonfiction, including His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina, A Gift of Hope: Helping the Homeless, and Pure Joy: The Dogs We Love; a book of poetry; and she has written the lyrics for a music album.
She also founded and runs two foundations, one named in honor of her late son, The Nick Traina Foundation, which finances organizations involved in mental illness, child abuse, and suicide prevention. The second foundation was established to assist the homeless. In 2002 Steel was decorated by the French government as an “Officier” of the distinguished Order of Arts and Letters and in 2014 she was decorated as a Chevalier (Knight) of the Order of the Legion d’Honneur in Paris. She lives in Paris and San Francisco and is the mother of nine children.
For more information about Danielle and her books, visit www.daniellesteel.net. Follow Danielle on Twitter, @DanielleSteel. on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial.
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Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates