How To Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life: Reluctant Confessions of a Big-Butted Star

asked by dataworld on November 28, 2006 12:19 PM

The increasing girth of Kirstie Alley's rear end has figured prominently (pun intended) on many a tabloid cover in recent years. At the peak of her career ("Cheers"), of course, her butt was indeed at its smallest. It's no surprise that she therefore sums up her life philosophy this way: one's level of happiness tends to be inversely proportional to the size of one's posterior.

With extremely salty language on par with what you might hear in a 50 Cent song, Alley has penned a self-deprecating Hollywood tell-all in the disguise of "note-to-self"-style diary entries. With many apologies to Bridget Jones, we learn that Alley is a former cocaine addict who once participated in the snorting of a six-foot-long trail of powder at a party. (She's says she's currently a Scientologist and credits L. Ron Hubbard with curing her of her narcotic addiction, as well as her issues with food.) We also learn--for better or worse--that she has the hots for John Travolta, Kid Rock, and Ben Affleck, and that she blames her weight gain for a super-extended period of unplanned celibacy.

As crass as she is (she kisses and tells, even including the sordid details of her losing her virginity in the front seat of a Chevy Impala), it's hard not to feel sympathetic for Alley. She admits that following a miscarriage in her third month of pregnancy and subsequent diagnosis of infertility—which were also broadcast in the tabloids--her weight started ballooning. And as much as she dishes about Hollywood actors such as Tim Matheson (of Animal House fame), she has the decency to leave Parker Stevenson, her ex-husband and father of their two adopted children, out of the gossiping. Even so, overall, this feels like a strangely extended endorsement of Dianetics. --Erica Jorgensen

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Reviews

I was very disappointed with this book. Perhaps it was because I hoped Kirstie would discuss her Jenny Craig experience more, give some insight into her personal struggle and provide tips for struggling with significant weight loss based on her experiences. Instead, she jumped from topic to topic, focused more on her drug addiction history and sex life and barely skimmed the surface of the weight issue. Although her wonderful wit was apparent throughout, the book was poorly written and difficult to follow. If you're looking only for Kirstie's unique type of humor, you may really enjoy it. However, if you're more interested in finding some self-help tips or empathy for the struggles of the obese, forget it because you won't find anything in this one.

reviewed by geo on November 29, 2006 12:13 PM

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The book was funny, but in my opinion, she uses too much foul language when it is not necessary. She does give encouragement from the point of if she can do it, so can you. But the foul mouth got old before I finished the book. I hope she wasn't writing the book just for monetary gain instead of being totally sincere wanting to help people achieve their goals.

reviewed by versed on November 29, 2006 5:46 PM

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This is a very easy to read book. It is no novel that one needs to concentrate on too much. I am normally a prude, but I found this book entertaining in spite of Kirtie's crude references to her sex life. She swears a lot, but alas, I can't seem to stop myself from doing that from time to time, so who am I to criticize?

It essentially reads like she read her journal and picked out the parts she wanted to write about. It's sort of like Fat Actress, but I am assuming the book is based on fact. She mixes in funny stories with some serious stuff, like her drug addiction and anxiety and panic attacks. It's quite the mish mash, but it works for Kirstie.

reviewed by glassysurf on November 29, 2006 6:32 PM

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Reading this book is a great relaxing way to pass the time and actually gain a little wisdom in life!

reviewed by mattisboss on November 29, 2006 7:12 PM

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I've never flown on a plane, but I think this would be a perfect book to read on one. By the time you've reached your destination, you'd already have read half the book. On the flight back you'd finish the second half, that is if you could wait that long.

I read this book in two days, extremely easy to read and very entertaining.

There were quite a few times, while reading, that I flipped to the first couple pages of the book to see if Ms. Alley had really written this all by herself. It appears she has. I'm impressed.

I definitely reccomend How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life. It made me laugh, it made me think and it was just...fun!

I really hope Kirstie writes another book. She obviously is a very talented writer.

reviewed by perfectjen on November 29, 2006 7:35 PM

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add a new book!