Written for an adult audience, BIG is a collection of personal narratives and intimate experiences of plus-size women and non-binary and transgender people. The language can be harsh and raw as writers express their pain, self-destructive behaviours, and shame. Personal histories and shared emotions are complicated, ranging from moments of extreme loss in a world without being heard or seen to ones of coping through humour. Not every story will appeal to all readers, but somewhere in this text something could inspire or challenge readers to reconsider their own self perceptions or become better allies to the fat people in their lives. Hopefully, these stories help to break the stigmas facing large-sized people, and readers will start to become their own advocates. English teachers and senior students looking for short stories or memoirs will find insights into navigating body image issues, diet culture, fatphobia, and society’s obsession with women’s bodies.

224 pp., 6 × 9"

Source: Association of Book Publishers of BC - BC Books for Schools (2021-2022)

Christina Myers is an award-winning newspaper journalist turned freelance writer and editor. After leaving her long-time newsroom post, she turned her attention to more creative work, including both fiction and narrative non-fiction (and sometimes, secretly, poetry too.) She holds degrees in journalism and psychology from TRU and UBC, respectively, and is an alumnus of the Writer’s Studio at SFU. She is a fan of vintage collectibles and BIG dresses with deep pockets, she juggles parenthood and creative work from her home outside Vancouver, BC.

Christina Myers' profile page

• Runner-up, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)

"Accepting yourself at every size? That means rejecting all the whispered edicts of Eurowestern society and the out-loud abuse of strangers. That's a BIG project. And one worth documenting. As a BIG girl myself, I NEEDED all the stories in this collection, from the sad-stark-raging to the joyful-triumphant-funny." --Ariel Gordon, editor of GUSH: menstrual manifestos for our age

"A book long overdue, expressing perspectives often ignored, by voices that will no longer be silenced!"

--Candy Palmater LLB Orator, Writer, Humourist