Tommy Tomlinson

Tommy Tomlinson comes to terms with being both a good person, and a liar. He's been lying to his friends, his family, his wife, and most of all himself, about his food addiction, and his weight. For the first time, in this book, he admits to the actual number on the scale, how he reached it and why he thinks he landed there. This is not a woe is me it's everyone else's fault kind of story. Nor is it a follow me and I'll teach you to drop 50 pounds a month manual. It's an honest and heart show more felt memoir of growing up big, in a family where food was used to celebrate triumphs as much as it was to console and soothe loss. Anyone who has ever struggled with their weight or is still struggling now can relate to this, and anyone who has ever looked at larger people and wondered how they let themselves get so big could benefit from this read.

I received an advance copy for review. show less

Tomlinson follows one dog, a Samoyed named Striker, through the last day of the Westminster Dog Show, where he is among the top contenders to be named Best in Show. From that narrative spine, Tomlinson's digressions include the history of dog shows and the nature of the dog/human relationship. The book was prompted, he says, by the question that came to mind while watching the Westminster show a few years earlier: Are these dogs happy?

Striker is not, at least in theory, being directly judged show more against the other dogs at Westminster. Instead, each dog is being judged against its own breed standard, a lengthy document describing the ideal dog of that breed. The winning dog should be the one that comes closest to its own breed standard. As Tomlinson explains it, "It's as if humans decided that George Clooney was the consummate man, and we measured all other men by which ones were the Clooneyest."

This is a charming book, filled with interesting bits of history and anecdotes. If you've ever wondered, for instance, why poodles are so often the victims of canine topiary, Tomlinson has the answer:

"Poodles, of course, are not born with preposterous haircuts. Those haircuts once had a practical purpose. In Germany, where poodles were created, the dogs were bred by hunters to fetch ducks. They were designed to have thick curls to insulate them from cold water. But they wound up with such dense fur that it was hard for them to swim. So their owners shaved the poodles except for the spots that most needed to stay warm -- chest, head, feet. As they came out of the fields and into homes, that fur proved perfect for sculpting. Groomers kept shaving parts of the poodle but went wild with what was left. The poor poodle ended up as a hybrid from hell: duck-hunter chic."

Thankfully, Tomlinson does not make the mistake of anthropomorphizing the dogs he writes about, as too many books about animals do. It is, in fact, one of his themes that we do not know, and likely never will know, what our dogs are actually thinking. Do they love us as much as we think they do, or is that just learned behavior that they know will get them food and shelter? Do they have any memories of their lives with us?

Tomlinson's an easy writer to read. His prose is graceful, and his humor is occasionally pointed without ever being mere snark. This is a delightful book. show less

A well-told story of a man on a quest to overcome, or accept, the severe weight challenges that have dogged him his whole life. Because Tomlinson is a gifted journalist, he manages to tell this story with clarity, objectivity, and a capable awareness of which details matter to the reader, and what can get left on the editing room floor.

This may or may not be a spoiler, but here goes: This is not the story of a man who miraculously discovers how to unearth his thinner, healthier self so we show more spend the last act of the book reveling in his newfound svelteness. He makes doggedly determined, small steps toward a better life, with a hell of a lot of detours along the way. He maxes out at well over 400 lbs, struggles with the inner demons of not being worthy of love, of embarrassment at taking a seat at a ballgame or on an airplane. He speaks honestly about how food has been a balm for him, a safe haven when fear or uncertainty crept in or reassurance was needed. I believe his story will help many understand the issue of 'food addiction' in a way they maybe had not before.

His story is not one of neglect or abuse. He has a loving family, a wife he can't believe looked twice at him, much less wanted to spend her life with him, and he is very confident in his capabilities as a writer and observer of the human condition.

Tomlinson is from the south, and much of the story takes place in Georgia and surrounding states, so it's familiar terrain for me as a reader. Along the way, he shares insights on music, sports, race, and other topics he's had the opportunity to specialize in as a journalist, mostly as a pathway to tell the story of where he was at a particular time in his career/life in conjunction with his health issues (obesity, cancer, etc).

It's a quick and easy read, but that's not to say it's not well-written. It is, in fact, because it is so well-written that it moves along at such an unobstructed, brisk pace.

For anyone who has struggled to lose 10, 20, 100, or 200 lbs; or for anyone who has looked at a heavy person and said "why don't they lose weight?", this book is a worthwhile read. It shows there are no easy answers, other than showing up, and not letting discouragement win the day. It also reminds us that there's a lot of misinformation and cruelty out there, and we would do well to humanize those we objectify. Tomlinson does a marvelous job at this, evoking empathy without ever falling into self-pity. show less

Millions of adults are categorizes as obese. I am one of those millions. We all have our stories to tell of how we got to where we are, but there is a lot of the journey that we want hidden from the world, ashamed of where we've been and what what we've become.

Tommy Tomlinson is a brave man. After his sister died due to complications with obesity, Tommy decided that enough was enough and decided to document a year of attempting to lose weight, while at the same time reflecting on his past show more and examining the journey that led him to the 460lbs weight. Tommy witnesses how his sister's death affected his family and it was a huge wake up call. It was time to change and this time for good.

I truly enjoyed reading about Tommy's life. How he intertwined his past with his present was wonderfully done, his feelings from each experience raw on every page, to where you feel like you're listening to a new friend share their experiences instead of reading words on a page. There were several parts of Tommy's story that brought tears to my eyes. So raw and so real that you wish you could reach through the pages and give this poor guy a hug.

The only grievance I had with the book was some of the bad language that was used. I felt the bad words were oftentimes unnecessary and at times even distracting from the particular story being told at that moment, and wish they could've been omitted. Other than that I had no other qualms and enjoyed this read immensely and cheered for Tommy every step of the way.

The Elephant in the Room is a beautifully brave memoir that gave me hope for my own journey, and I know that it will be a motivation to thousands of others. Obesity, though an epidemic in our country, is also something that still has a stigma. Those of us that deal with obesity on a daily basis feel like we're alone in the fight, but reading stories like Tommy's is a wonderful reminder. We can do this and we are not alone. show less