Stranger Here

How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed with My Head

By: Jen Larsen

Narrated by: Dani Cervone

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Jen Larsen always thought that if she could only lose some weight, she would be unstoppable. She was convinced that once she found a way to not be fat any more, she would have the perfect existence she'd always dreamed of. When diet after diet failed, she decided to try bariatric surgery, and it worked better than she ever could have dreamed: she lost 180 pounds. As the weight fell away, though, Larsen realized that getting skinny was not the magical cure she thought it would be and suddenly, she wasn't sure who she was anymore.

Stranger Here is the brutally honest, surprisingly hilarious story of one woman's journey from one extreme of the weight spectrum to the other, and of the unexpected emotional chaos it created. Insightful and unsparing in her self-examination, Larsen depicts the exhilarating highs and devastating lows she experienced as a result of her weight loss, the incredible joy of finally beginning to look like the image of herself she's always carried inside her head, and the crushing pain and confusion of feeling like a stranger in her own body after losing the weight that has always defined her.

©2013 Jen Larsen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Touching on difficult issues, with funny bits

I really liked this book, it was able to capture the feelings and complexities of what it means to be fat in society and what it means to lose weight when being fat was a part of your identity both of which are complex issues that the author portrays well.

Loved it!

Really enjoyed this insightful and well written book. She did a great job narrating it as well. So glad I bought it.

Honest & Relatable

This book was listed as a resource inside my bariatric weightloss guidebook. How can you truly measure someone else's journey? You cant...you take it at face value and enjoy the ride. The ending was appropriate - fitting considering that this is a lifetime journey. The moments of dadk humor left me wondering if therapy was a part of her journey as well...lol. Overall a great read...would recommend.

Good book with some disappointments

So I love the narrator of this book and I liked the book overall, although the thing that bothered me was sometimes story seemed like it jumped. There wasn't enough detail in some parts and that left me wanting. I really like the epilogue as they gave me food for thought. overall I would recommend the book.

The story needed to be told

I loved this book it made me feel like she was writing my story not every part but, she covered the idea you need to accept you as you are and redefine success.

what not to do if you have weight loss surgery 101

this book is about the author's struggles to come to terms with her WLS and how it effected her life. she jumped into this major life change in all the wrong ways. This book sets up some very misleading and negative stereotypes that can be harmful to people looking to get WLS.

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF GETTING A WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.

talk to your doctor, a friend who has had WLS or heck, some stranger on the internet before you read this book.

also, the narrator pronounces duodenal wrong EVERY SINGLE TIME. just look up how to pronounce it, jeez.