On the surface, Big Girl is a memoir about one woman's attempts to work through her problems with food and come to terms with a painful childhood. However, Refinery29 writer Kelsey Miller is so funny and likable that spending time with her as she explores the world of "Intuitive Eating"--a body image program based on Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch's book--is joyful rather than sad. Intuitive Eating requires mindfulness (allowing no other distractions), which becomes a gateway to mindful living in a hectic world: "Mindfulness was sneaking off of the plate and into the rest of my life.... [And] now I realize [food] was just one particularly cheap and sticky strain of my real drug of choice: distraction." As Miller learns to eat without disruption, she realizes this is how she should approach all aspects of her life--fully invested in the present moment and at peace with the mental chatter that sometimes fills the silence.
In an author's note, Miller describes Big Girl as "a snapshot of a wild, precious year of my life," but this memoir is so much more than that. From the first sentence--when Kelsey addresses the reader directly: "I'm not special. Not that you thought I was..."--we realize that she is indeed special, and Big Girl is truly a gift to every reader, regardless of any existing "food issues." Miller becomes a trusted friend--to herself, as well as the reader. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics