Description

"I wish my thighs were smaller."

"If only I could lose ten pounds."

A wake-up call for any woman who has engaged in the "if only" wishing game, Locker Room Diaries uses the unique lens of the locker room to reveal what, exactly, goes into "shaping" not just a woman's body but her body image. The locker room can be a wondrous retreat, a place to toss aside the worries of the day, but it is also where our flaws become most apparent—and where most of us can't help but wonder how we "measure up." Often dressed in no more than a towel, Leslie Goldman spent five years talking with women of all shapes and sizes about their body image, from taut twenty-somethings to heavyset seniors. Why is it, she asks, that almost no one seems satisfied with her physique? From compulsive workouts to daily dates with the scale, from bikini waxes to body fat measurements, American women are swept up in a constant quest for the "perfect" body. Thankfully, more than one woman reveals how she halted her cycle of self-loathing and learned to like her body as is. Blending expert opinion with wonderfully intimate, often laugh-outloud, confidences, Locker Room Diaries will inspire anyone who knows the highs of exercise to leave the lows of self-esteem behind—and, most especially, once and for all, to step off that scale!

Praise For Locker Room Diaries

"Goldman’s writing style is breezy and humorous, which certainly adds to the reader’s pleasure."
—Boston Globe

"[Goldman] conducted dozens of interviews with women of all ages...Interviews and stories will resonate with readers and provide inspiration for maintaining a positive self-image."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Locker Room Diaries gives heart and humor to body image in a way like-minded books have not before. While it parses out the individual issues that plague each woman, by doing so it reminds the reader that fat, thin; rich, poor; short, tall; blonde, brunette; fair- or dark-skinned, there isn’t a person alive who hasn’t looked in the mirror and asked herself, ‘Am I good enough within this skin?’ Within her book, Leslie Goldman gives us permission to come to some peace with ourselves and our past."
—Erin Shea, author of Tales from the Scale

"Goldman holds the reader’s attention with her empathy and humor....We all need to appreciate our bodies for what they can do and for the qualities that can’t be weighed and measured—strength and grace, for example. This book is a good read in that direction."
—Club Life Magazine

"A must-read for any woman who struggles with her body image. Finally, someone has asked women what they really think about their bodies, and their answers are at once surprising, life-affirming, heartbreaking, and hilarious. Leslie Goldman has written an important book with humor and compassion that will help women put their body image woes to rest once and for all."
—Ann Kearney-Cooke, author of Change Your Mind, Change Your Body: Feeling Good About Your Body and Self After 40

"Having seen that age brings with it greater body confidence and comfort and the shedding of self-consciousness, Goldman, who underwent deep transformation while preparing this eminently suitable addition to women’s studies, says it is ‘time to throw in the towel on hating our bodies.’"
—Booklist

About the Author

Leslie Goldman, M.P.H., is a health and medical writer for the American Medical Assocation. A regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune, she also writes for Health, Marie Claire, People, and Redbook. She lives in Chicago.

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2006 by Leslie Goldman. All rights reserved.

"Phenomenal Woman," copyright 1978 by Maya Angelou, from And I Still Rise by Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random House, Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Previously published by Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Although the majority of women's names and identifying characteristics in this book are authentic, a select few identities have been changed to protect anonymity.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and where Da Capo Press was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters.

Cover design by Sara Eisenman.
Cover photograph copyright Getty Images.

Back to top

Opening Lines (Experimental)

The grace of my style.
Phenomenally.
That's me.
So I tried on my wedding dress last night. The back and arms need serious work.
I wish I could just slice off this part of my thigh, from here to here. That would be perfect.
Honey, let's get on the scale and see if you've lost anything.
When I ...

Back to top

Copyright

Copyright 2006 by Leslie Goldman.

All Rights Reserved.

Back to top