Book Review: "She's Come Undone" By Wally Lamb

I absolutely adore fiction books about a heroine who fights hard to lose weight, get fit, and improve her life. I use these books as motivation in my own struggle with weight. I read this book on recommendations by several websites that claimed that this book was a weight loss story.  While that little tidbit has some truth in it, it is not the main purpose of this story.

I truly had a love-hate relationship with She's Come Undone.  On one hand, it is a wonderfully addicting read. Lamb pulls you in from the beginning and traps you in the life of  Dolores.  On the other hand, it is Dolores that at times drove me crazy; her disrespectful behavior towards her parents, her irrational outbursts, and her temper tantrums were wearying to me.  However,  I trudged on and Lamb constructs a tale of an imperfect woman living in a very real, imperfect world.

Life is not kind to Dolores, who lives with her parents who have an abusive relationship. Her mother suffers a terrible loss and down spirals into madness. Eventually, this causes her parents to divorce and for her mother to spend several months in a mental hospital. During that time, Dolores stays with her grandmother, whom she claims to hate. After her mother's return from the hospital, Dolores, at the tender age of thirteen, suffers a grisly life event that sends Dolores over the edge and into a self-hatred that manifests itself in food addiction.

The story of Dolores's life follows and it is not an easy one. I cried real tears over the losses she suffers, the mental illness struggles, the weight struggles, and self-image issues.  The story covers loss, love, abortion, sexual orientation, AIDS, world events, marriage, infidelity, rape, pedophilia, women's rights, discrimination, and what it really means to be family.

The book barely covers her weight loss. It is really a consequence of the other things occurring in her life. If you are looking for fitness and weight loss motivation, you won't find much here.  However, this story is about so much more and is a truly inspiring read that will stick with you long after the book is closed.

You can purchase this book here.