Karen Harmon, Linda Bonner

Gebundenes Buch

Fat and Beautiful

A Story of Love, Pain, and Courage

Beschreibung

The name-calling and hurtful actions from others began the day Linda entered the public school system. Searching to belong, she learned quickly that a snappy comeback was her best defence. Born in 1947, just after the Second World War, into a home of loving parents, eccentric grandparents and a few unconventional relatives, Linda was a precocious, happy child. Regrettably, she was bullied in life as she struggled with obesity. Her saviour was "anything western": television shows, movies, horses, dude ranches and eventually cowboys. With many obstacles along the way, Linda blazed a trail from Vancouver's big city to the dusty Cariboo to follow her dream of horses, ranches, and riding. Linda's story is heartwarming and heart-wrenching, uncommonly adventurous and unusually comical. Anyone who has struggled with not fitting into what society thinks to be "normal" will find Linda's experiences encouraging and relatable. Allow Linda to inspire and remind you that it is not about the happily ever after, it is the joy you create along the way when it seems the world is against you that matters. Karen Harmon is the author of two previous award-winning books: Looking for Normal and Where is My Happy Ending? A Journey of No Regrets. Fat and Beautiful: A Story of Love, Pain and Courage is another book to add to Karen's collection of memoirs filled with family drama, humour and nostalgia.

Autor

Karen Harmon is a third-time author born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, where she resides today. Educated and employed as a Special Needs Teaching Assistant for the School District of West Vancouver, Karen can also be found teaching various exercise classes as a BCRPA fitness instructor in both North and West Vancouver. Karen takes health, family and fitness seriously, but can find humour in almost any situation.Karen was raised in the 1960s and '70s with a bipolar mother and an extroverted, doting father. Even though her childhood was unique and eclectic, she would not change a thing.As a mother of three adult children, Jessica, Emma and Mackenzie, Karen shares her co-parenting with her husband of twenty-five years, Paul.In addition to writing, Karen's other main hobby has been cycling with her bike-trip friends yearly since 1993 all over British Columbia and parts of the United States. Karen has over 10,000 followers on her social media platforms combined and over 120 ratings and reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. She has enjoyed travelling to Belgium, Germany, Holland, Paris, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia to host events and speak to her many supporters. She offers an inspirational message of hope and how to find a successful balance with health, family, friends, education, work and play.Karen Harmon writes passionately in her three memoirs: Looking for Normal, Where is My Happy Ending? A Journey of No Regrets, and Fat and Beautiful: My Sister's Story. Looking for Normal is based on Karen's recollections of her parents meeting in 1945 at the Cave Supper Club in Vancouver, B.C., and her personal experiences of growing up in the 1960s, taking the reader on a memorable journey from 1930 to 1978. With poverty, addiction, mental illness and family relationships being current topics of discussion, Karen Harmon has tapped into a story that everyone can relate to. I am looking forward to sharing her upbringing with my students. - Cathy Sieben, Secondary Teacher, Gibsons, B.C.Where is My Happy Ending? A Journey of No Regrets is a follow-up to her first memoir, but can be read independently. After graduation, the story follows Karen into an unknown world of disco dancing and meeting unsavoury characters as a naïve seventeen-year-old. Navigating through the 1970s, '80s and '90s, searching for Mr. Right, she often makes mistakes and seemingly bad choices. Karen's story will remind many women of simpler times and the pitfalls they faced along the way.Quite like Karen's first book, it pained me to put this one down, and when I finished it, I was so sad it was over. I thoroughly enjoyed getting swept away in Karen's exceptional storytelling once again. I smiled and laughed often and sometimes cried too. I found myself rooting for Karen, from one adventure to another. I couldn't wait to see where her story went next. I could relate so much to Karen, from her low self-esteem issues, many second-guessing decisions, her high hopes, dreams, people-pleasing, grief, and so on. She's funny, intelligent, vulnerable, inspiring, wise, and unique with words. There are so many lessons to learn here. This book is a gift.- Author Nadine Sands.Karen's third book, Fat and Beautiful: My Sister's Story, dives into the extreme bullying her sister received and endured in the 1950s and onward. At the young age of six, Linda began fighting back with wit and humour. Following Karen's unique writing style, Fat and Beautiful: My Sister's Story, will once again intrigue, educate and enamour the reader as done in Karen's first two books.All three of Karen's books are bittersweet memoirs and cover diversity, historical events, music, and each era's life and times. With the obsolete recognition of mental health, addiction and a family trying to succeed amongst society's trappings in Western British Columbia, Canada.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Tellwell Talent
• Seitenzahl: 364
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. September 2021
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 25mm
• Gewicht: 644g
• ISBN-13: 9780228856535
• ISBN-10: 0228856531
• Artikelnr.: 62602733