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“I [started out] among the skeptics who felt food addiction was a copout. But after meeting Prager and reading his book, my view has shifted.” — JENNIFER LaRUE HUGET, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy columnist, Washington Post

“A compelling description of the process of addiction.” — JOSEPH FRASCELLA, National Institute on Drug Abuse

— Buy it. // Visit the website —

Above: a contemporary photo; Below: the "before" picture.

I had a fat and troubled childhood that lasted almost 35 years, and my body reached 365 pounds. I could lose weight, but I always gained it back and more. Then, on the advice of others, I started accepting  standard addiction treatment, and now I'm approaching 20 years in a normal-sized body. In that time, public acceptance of food addiction has barely moved, and insurance support for treatment has regressed.

Both of those need to change, and my story tells why. I'm no diet guru, and this isn't a diet book, but if I escaped more than a decade above 300 pounds, lots of others can find relief too.

It's a good read with a happy ending, and it could change your life.

I will be speaking on the topic of food addiction at the Commonwealth Club of California, the oldest public affairs forum in the country, on Feb. 28. I'll be joining a fabulous panel of researchers and clinicians: Nicole Avena of Princeton and the University of Florida, Eric Stice of the Oregon Research Institute, Vera Tarman of Renascent Center of Toronto, abd Elissa Epel and Andrea Garber, both of the University of California at San Francisco. I am very excited to be part of the roster, not to mention to be appearing at such a great institution. Ticket information here; if you come, please stay afterward to say hello.