Review ~ Big Fat Disaster by Beth Fehlbaum

Big Fat Disaster

by Beth Fehlbaum

Published April 18th 2014 by Merit Press

Insecure, shy, and way overweight, Colby hates the limelight as much as her pageant-pretty mom and sisters love it. It's her life: Dad's a superstar, running for office on a family values platform. Then suddenly, he ditches his marriage for a younger woman and gets caught stealing money from the campaign. Everyone hates Colby for finding out and blowing the whistle on him. From a mansion, they end up in a poor relative's trailer, where her mom's contempt swells right along with Colby's supersized jeans. Then, a cruel video of Colby half-dressed, made by her cousin Ryan, finds its way onto the internet. Colby plans her own death. A tragic family accident intervenes, and Colby's role in it seems to paint her as a hero, but she's only a fraud. Finally, threatened with exposure, Colby must face facts about her selfish mother and her own shame. Harrowing and hopeful, proof that the truth that saves us can come with a fierce and terrible price, Big Fat Disaster is that rare thing, a story that is authentically new.

5 out of 5 stars

Reading this book was such an emotional journey for me.  Even though this is a work of fiction, it deals with a very REAL problem, eating disorders.  Colby has a binge eating disorder and uses food like a drug as a means to escape what is happening in her life.  Her family in absolutely no way, whatsoever is a support system and Colby finds herself on the verge of suicide. This book was definitely not an easy read, as having an eating disorder of my own, I could really relate to the challenges that Colby was going through.  Not only did she have to deal with the childish ridicule and cattiness of her classmates, her family should have been taken out and shot for how they treated her.  Her own mother was a self-centered person and at times, I just wanted to slap her to give her a wake-up call.  She should have never ever called her daughter fat, or considered her an embarrassment to the family.  I think the part that really angered me was when the video was going around and it was suddenly Colby's fault!  Had she not been overweight, then the video would have never been made.  Ugh!  But wait, there's more!  To call your own daughter a BIG FAT DISASTER when talking on the phone to a friend was just epic.  Yep....mother of the year material there, let me tell you!  I am really glad that at the end, Colby found an excellent support system, and was on a road to hopefully some happiness, which she truly deserved.

Ms. Fehlbaum has written an amazing novel that has a heartbreaking message about the seriousness of eating disorders.  I was instantly drawn into this emotional story from the first page.  It was not an easy read, not because of the writing itself, but for the message the book was about.  For all the "Colby's" out there in the world, just know that there are people who care about you, just hang on till you find the right one to listen!  {{Big hugs}}