Ask the Author: Mark A. Rayner
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Mark A. Rayner
Like many of my framing ideas for a book, the idea for The Fatness came to me in a dream, fully formed.
I should call it a nightmare, as it was terrifying. I started writing this book as a way to exorcise it from my mind. It’s probably no coincidence I had the
dream while I was in the midst of reading The Obesity Myth. It was a challenge to write.
As I mention in the afterword, I’ve struggled with weight issues most of my life, so I found it quite difficult to write a humorous account of what it would be like to be imprisoned for your weight. In truth, I had to stop writing it for a while. I probably started and stopped this project more than any other piece of writing I’ve ever tackled. The first idea went down on paper in 2004, and I didn’t actually have a working draft until 2013. The title, however, was there from the beginning.
When I had that first draft, I did question it. Should I open up this idea? Will some people think it’s actually a good idea? Despite my worries, I kept writing. In the end I figured I could trust my readers to see it was satire.
I should call it a nightmare, as it was terrifying. I started writing this book as a way to exorcise it from my mind. It’s probably no coincidence I had the
dream while I was in the midst of reading The Obesity Myth. It was a challenge to write.
As I mention in the afterword, I’ve struggled with weight issues most of my life, so I found it quite difficult to write a humorous account of what it would be like to be imprisoned for your weight. In truth, I had to stop writing it for a while. I probably started and stopped this project more than any other piece of writing I’ve ever tackled. The first idea went down on paper in 2004, and I didn’t actually have a working draft until 2013. The title, however, was there from the beginning.
When I had that first draft, I did question it. Should I open up this idea? Will some people think it’s actually a good idea? Despite my worries, I kept writing. In the end I figured I could trust my readers to see it was satire.
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