Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family

I've wanted to read this book for a while. And I was right in my assumption that I would find it very very relatable. Even though the author is a Pakistani, the South Asian culture, family dynamics, the association with food, as well as all the horrible intrusive fatphobic messaging fed to us since childhood - every single aspect of this memoir hit pretty close to my heart, except maybe my family didn't have as much lavish feasts as Arabia's did. There's a lot of heart and joy and vulnerability in the way she narrates her life story and I thoroughly enjoyed all those parts.

While I agree that her struggles with binge eating, dieting, all weight loss struggles, hating her own body and so much more was hard to read, I could also empathize with where she was coming from and why she felt that way. While I've had some similar and some very differing experiences than her, it was easy for me to understand her journey of coming to accept her body that way it is or doing whatever she felt was necessary to arrive at that acceptance stage. It may not be what the body positivity/ fat positivity movement (especially in the west) expects from a known public figure, but I'm not going to judge her for what she does to feel better in her own body, because I know how hard it is to unlearn the toxic fatphobic nonsense we desi people are fed from childhood. I hope she grows even more accepting and happy with herself in this journey and I hope I will too.

I don't know if I can recommend this to everyone because some might find it triggering and uncomfortable. But it is steeped in both Pakistani and immigrant culture, has loads of delicious desi food descriptions that'll make you drool and feel hungry, and the book ends with some very delicious Pakistani recipes including how to make homemade ghee and I thought that was such a highlight to end on.

I am impressed with the way she was able to tell her story without piling on excessive weight bias baggage. She tells about her relationship with food, as well as her multicultural experiences, in such a way that we understand her personal experiences are for her personally. It can be easy to tell a story about food, fat and family and include sweeping statements or judgements that wrap up other people in the author's personal experiences. As a reader, those sweeping statements often leave me feeling judged and defensive. Chaudry avoids this for most of the book, so I enjoyed reading the book and didn't feel the need to get defensive about anything.
Also the food! There is so much that describes that seems so delicious. I am going to be looking for a Pakistani restaurant now!