While the framing of this work through the author's experiences, for me as a reader, undermined her important research and arguments -- that was kind of her point. She needs readers to be uncomfortable with her and her experiences, to realize there's a real person being harmed by systemic failures, in order to advocate for systemic changes that would benefit all people, not only fat people. If you just want the research, listen to her Maintenance Phase podcast. If you want to listen to one person's examples of the impact of systemic failures, then read this book.

The author makes solid arguments for systemic changes needed to benefit fat people and everyone around them, but I can't help but thinking that the people who need to hear this message the most -- the people who insist on needing facts, data, and logic before supporting any change -- would automatically dismiss everything she says because of who she is: a fat person and a woman. If we're going to get any of these systemic changes, we're going to need a cis het white man giving these messages, and they're not going to listen to Aubrey. Maybe the 99% Invisible guy would get it, but he doesn't have an army behind him.

Also, I have to quibble with Aubrey's assertion at the start of this book that it isn't a memoir. Sure, there's no thin redemption arc, but every systemic change she pitches is framed by one of her own experiences. And they are valid experiences, I'm not seeking to undermine them! But I wonder if she'd accuse me of thin privilege if I said I've experienced many similar humiliations at 150 pounds, not 300 pounds. YES her struggles at a larger size are real and valid, but they are often also shared! And it doesn't feel like she leaves space to share those experiences. Probably, as she describes, because her thin "friends" often totally dismiss her concerns and feelings (she needs better friends!!). We're all stuck competing with each other because we're forced into this thin/fat binary, but it's not a competition as to who suffers more. Or it shouldn't be. I appreciate this book and Aubrey's research and insights, I just wish it wasn't so quick to discount everything beyond the author's experiences.