The book begins as an account of her life, and includes Gay’s trademark commentary on popular culture, such as The Biggest Loser and the Kardashians.įrom the first page, Gay guarantees no simple or happy conclusions about weight loss or moving past trauma. “The story of my body is not a story of triumph,” Gay says in the second sentence of her book. Gay’s memoir is, instead, “about learning, however slowly, to allow myself to be seen and understood.” No, Hunger is not a self-help book. There are no bite-size takeaways or before-and-after pictures, because it’s more complex than that.
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The triumph of the book lies in the feat of laying oneself bare. Gay is inviting readers to witness an unflinching self-portrait. You’re at the beginning of your tour for Hunger, which is arguably your most revealing book. How do you anticipate the tour being different from previous tours?Įvery book tour is essentially similar, but when I have to discuss this particular book in public over and over again, it can be challenging and draining. How did you go about tackling this project? Yes, you say on the very first page that writing Hunger has been the most difficult experience of your life. I procrastinated for a very long time, well past when I was supposed to turn the book in and well past when it was supposed to be originally published. I finally just dove in the beginning and thought, where would I start if I was going to tell the story of my body? I started with my childhood. The first half of the book is mostly a chronological account of my life, and the second half tends to be more topical. I don’t really have a formal writing process, so I wrote when I could. I was on tour when I wrote most of the book. You write about self-care and how cooking can be a form of self-care. Now that you’re on tour and you’ve got a packed schedule, what kinds of self care do you find helpful when you’re busy and on the road?
Roxane gay hunger book tour movie#
I love to go back to my hotel room and watch a pay-per-view movie, because I don’t have time to go to the theater because I’m traveling so much, so one of the best ways to see current movies is on airplanes and in hotel rooms, so I will treat myself to a movie in a hotel room. Right now I’m watching The Bachelorette, of course, now that the new season has started. You also talk about how figures in popular media like Oprah and Kirstie Alley approach weight loss as a shameful act that they need to repent for. For example, you reference an Oprah episode where she comes on stage with a wheelbarrow of animal fat that represents how much weight she’s lost. How do you think the media can find a middle ground that reflects an experience of healthy eating and body positivity? You then juxtapose that with Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa, in which food is celebrated as nourishment. I don’t think that ground zero for the media is in regard to food.
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I think it’s in regards to how they display and discuss fat bodies. The media needs to put more bodies in front of people.