My Mad Fat Diary: A Memoir

Set in 1989, this memoir follows 17-year-old Rae Earl during a pivotal year in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Recently released from a psychiatric ward, Rae lives with her mum and their deaf white cat in a council house. The book is based on the real diary Rae kept during this time. Rae navigates adolescence surrounded by her constantly dieting mum, her beautiful frenemy Bethany, school friends with nicknames like "Haddock," "Battered Sausage," and "Fig," and boys she pines after—who sometimes end up with Bethany instead. As an overweight teenager in an era when slim pop singers dominated the charts, Rae struggles with her body image, her relationships with her parents, and her search for love and acceptance. The diary captures a year in the life of a confused, lonely teenager who sometimes overeats, takes herself very seriously, and records her world with humor and insight. The book became the basis for a British television series.