This week, Newsweek.com’s Karen Springen interviews blogger-turned-author Stephanie Klein about her new memoir, Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp. It’s an intensely personal interview. At one point, Ms. Klein, whose previous book was called Straight Up and Dirty, is asked, “When you were a kid, your legs’ chafing together caused red itchy bumps that your mom called ‘chub rub,’ and boys at school called you ‘Moose.’ Was the name-calling the worst part about being overweight?”
Asked how she feels about herself now, Ms. Klein says, “I could stand to lose 10 or 15 pounds, but honestly, I’m happy the way I am. I feel comfortable with it. I’d rather have that extra 10, 15 pounds on me than live a lifestyle of trying to sustain this unattainable weight.”
That sort of healthy attitude probably makes her an unlikely candidate for a nascent book project seeking a “cute chunky female writer who would like to lose a few pounds” via Craig’s List. According to the ad:
Besides, Ms. Klein has other things she’s working on right now according to the interview: “I’m working on two books. One is young adult fiction and one is women’s fiction. I don’t want to say too much.”
Of the television version of Straight Up, she has some thoughts about the casting: “I want it to be sort of a young Bette Midler type. Someone with lots of personality who tells it like it is.”
