Fannie Hurst's sharply witty, self-mocking narrator turns her own weight struggle into a comic, revealing study of diet culture and the pressure on women to be thin. From the outset, she contrasts a more generous, old-fashioned acceptance of bodies and hearty meals with the modern obsession with calories, restraint, and boyish slimness, showing how appearance can become bound up with vanity, shame, and self-worth. What begins as personal embarrassment becomes a broader satire of a culture driven mad by slimming fads, diet products, fashion ideals, Hollywood images, and the mannequins and shop windows that teach women to feel inadequate. As her resolve hardens, she abandons absurd quick-fix schemes and seeks medical guidance, only to discover that her body is normal and that food habits are the real problem. The resulting regimen brings hunger, deprivation, and obsessive fantasies of rich meals, warping her mind even as it trims her figure. Praised for her transformation, she grows more irritable and hard-edged, exposing the emotional cost of chasing approval. With humor and unease, Hurst offers a cautionary plea for common sense, moderation, and self-awareness over dangerous underweight. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.