Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
In Hunger, Roxane Gay writes openly about her body and the experiences that shaped her relationship to it. She recounts a sexual assault she suffered as a girl and how she used food and weight as a way to feel safe afterward, then traces the long effects on her health, her self-image, and how others see and treat her. Gay refuses an easy story of transformation, instead writing honestly about ongoing struggle, shame, and survival. She also examines how culture judges and polices fat bodies, especially those of women. Published in 2017, the memoir was widely praised for its candor and its refusal to offer simple comfort. It is a personal and difficult book about appetite, care, and living in a body the world treats harshly.
Also by Roxane Gay
What you might want to know about Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Roxane Gay's unflinching memoir about her body, weight, trauma, and the way the world treats large bodies.
It is a memoir about Gay's body and weight, the sexual assault she survived as a girl, and how she has lived in a body the world often treats harshly.
No. Gay deliberately avoids a tidy transformation arc and instead writes honestly about ongoing struggle, shame, and survival.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body was written by Roxane Gay, published in 2016 by Harper Perennial.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body is 320 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
