Fat Off, Fat On

In this disarming and candid memoir, cultural critic Clarkisha Kent dismantles the oppressions faced by Black, queer, fat women in a society obsessed with heteronormativity. There was no easy way for Clarkisha Kent to navigate personal discovery and self-love. As a fat, dark-skinned immigrant facing mental health and intergenerational trauma, at times Kent's body appeared a cosmic punishment. In the face of homophobia, anti-Blackness, body dysmorphia, and respectability politics, the pursuit of "high self-esteem" seemed oxymoronic. Fat Off, Fat On is a humorous, at times tragic, memoir that follows Kent on her journey realizing her body is a gift to be grown into, that sometimes family doesn't always mean home, and how ill-fated bisexual romances could free her from gender essentialism. Perfect for readers of Keah Brown's The Pretty One, Alida Nugent's You Don't Have to Like Me, and Stephanie Yeboah's Fattily Ever After, Kent's debut is disarming and candid about her lived experience of intersectionality. It stresses the importance of addressing the violence scored upon our minds and our bodies, and how we might begin the difficult--but joyful--work of setting ourselves free.