I remember the first time I saw the hit reality-television show The Biggest Loser—I was in South Carolina, visiting my in-laws.
When my father-in-law (flipping channels, as men everywhere like to do) landed upon it, I immediately made my enjoyment known. I didn’t even really know the show at all, but I knew it would definitely be better than two hours of football.
And I was right. I remember being amazed, like all of the viewers are, by the drastic changes the contestants make over the course of even one episode, and of loving their excitement when their weigh-in number matched their expectations.
So it was with true excitement that I began editing Fat Chance, Julie Hadden’s story of her time on The Biggest Loser and the subsequent changes she made to her life.
I knew, from the start, that I wanted to be involved in the project. And I loved editing Julie’s book and getting to know her. I always believed in the strength of her message; I knew that it was powerful and transformative and exactly what women needed to hear. That if she could do it, she could also inspire a nation of women to do it, to care for themselves, to believe they were worthy of the life they wanted to live, to put themselves on their own priority lists.
But before last week, I had never seen Julie’s effect firsthand. And it was amazing. She came into town from Florida to do some interviews and media appearances, and I got the privilege of attending a book signing in New Jersey with her. I watched with a great degree of heart-swelling pride and happiness as many women came out to see her, their faces hopeful and their questions honest. There was laughing and crying, and at the end of the night, I knew that one woman had just changed a few lives.
Rebecca Maker
GuidepostsBooks
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