Review: Eating My Feelings

Title: Eating My Feelings: Tales of Overeating, Underperforming, and Coping with My Crazy Family
Author: Mark Rosenberg
Format: Paperback, 256 pages
Pub. Date: August 6th 2013
Source: Goodreads First Reads

★★★★

Four stars.

If Mark Rosenberg knows about one thing, it's messed up families and hilarious situations. Using humor, he talks about his lifelong struggle with weight, drugs, relationships and so much more with the flair and sassy attitude that only a gay man residing in New York City can deliver. Eating My Feelings is a collection of nonfiction essays spanning over his life, from childhood to recent years, and each one is as laugh-out-loud funny as the first.

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I didn't really know what to expect out of this book when I got it. The title (and the rainbow sprinkles) initially drew me in, since I eat my feelings and have a pretty broken family. When I found out he was gay? Even better. As a member of the LGBT community, I'm always looking to read more books from that view point. Though I wasn't sure about the essays format, I am so glad that I gave this book a shot.

Straight up, if you're a prude or have a problem with profanity or LGBT themes, put this book down. It's not for you. However, if you find drunken debauchery and swearing like a trucker to be part of your regular routine, welcome to the club and grab a copy. As well as being unapologetically crass and giggle-snort worthy, Mark writes with a certain type of blunt honesty that I have to adore, and that made the stories that much more real to the reader.

Stories that unless you come from such a family, seem surreal. Whether talking about his evil stepmother swindling him into a fat camp, his love of a one-eyed dog, or even preparatory blizzard binges on fast food, there's a sense of "you couldn't make that s- up."

Granted, I relate to this book in a number of ways: the pudgy childhood, the homosexuality, the yelling loud obscenities at various relatives in public. But in my opinion, this book goes beyond those connections, and can be appreciated by any girl (or fabulous man) who loves to have a good time and appreciates Chelsea Handler-esque comedy.

Thank you to Goodreads First Reads for my copy.