I worked in daily journalism for 28 years, the last 14 of them as an editor at the Boston Globe before accepting a buyout in April 2007. I worked in most subject areas, and wrote widely as a freelancer within the organization.

My focus these days is sustainable personal change through the prism of food addiction, whose existence is coming slowly in mainstream medicine and popular culture and from which I am recovering from. I had a fat childhood, followed by an obese adolescence that lasted into my early 30s. I've lost more than 500 pounds, by repeatedly gaining it back, but it wasn't until I accepted that I might be an addict, and began the practices and treatments that have been helping alcoholics and other addicts for 75 years, that my life turned around. The weight loss that followed totaled 160 pounds, which has remained off my body, with some variation, for 20 years. The methods I followed —  therapy, eating-disorder rehab, addiction support groups, and spiritual development  — are not part of the nation's "solutions" for this growing problem. (I use quotation marks because, clearly, nothing is being solved.)

"Fat Boy Thin Man" is not a diet book, and I'm definitely not a diet guru; I didn't create any of the methods that led to my turnaround. Other people shared their experiences with me, and now I'm doing the same in a slightly broader way. The book, which is funny, self-deprecating, and entertaining, is also instructive in a couple of important ways: I make clear how others can benefit from the same path, and how public policy and popular understanding could make it much easier to overcome obesity.

I am the fortunate spouse of Georgina Prager, and we have a spirited, clever, sweet boy who is the center of our lives.