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I read and write nonfiction all day long, so most of my me-time pleasure reading is limited to fiction. For Gay, both issues are intimately and inextricably connected as she relates a raw, difficult tale that offers insight and an opportunity for empathy development beneficial for any reporter writing about these issues.

Gay describes some experiences that I have had myself. I recently gained a lot more empathy for large people when I joined the club part of my motivation for reading the book. She describes a bias against people with obesity by health care providers and its implications for obtaining adequate health care that are well documented in the research literature.

Health reporters who cover obesity issues should be aware of this bias.

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Her intimate narrative provides insights into the patient perspective that journalists may rarely get even when interviewing patients. I would go so far as to say that what she shares is essential for journalists who interview patients with obesity to hear and consider. The other major issue Gay confronts in the book is a gang rape that took place when she was 12 years old.

She graphically recounts the details of this sexual assault, which she considers the stimulus for the excess eating that led to her weight gain. This section and some others may be too triggering for some people, so as I warned earlier, readers or listeners should exercise self-care when reading or listening to this book.

I listened to it in the privacy of my car. Such intense honesty is rare even in memoirs, and it was hard not to wince during various passages. It requires a far higher level of empathy, understanding and nuance than most issues about which we write. Granted, we do write about these two topics a lot.

Writing this post also made me realize that it might be nice to recommend other worthwhile books for journalists covering medical studies. I may do a roundup of such books in the future and would love to hear your recommendations. What books do you think journalists who cover medical research should check out?

It can be a how-to book, an expose into the healthcare system, a philosophy book or even a nonfiction narrative. Please leave your comments below, or email me at tara healthjournalism. Tara Haelle. February 18, Content note : This blog post mentions sexual assault.