Fat Chance Published by PaperStar (The Putnam & Grosset Group) 1996   Judi Liebowitz wants to be the thinnest girl in eighth grade and have a boyfriend. She's convinced that if only she had "creamy thighs and amazing cheekbones that look like I'm always sipping through a straw" her best friend Monica wouldn't have stolen the boy she had a crush on. When Judi meets glamorous, thin-as-a-stick Nancy Pratt, she thinks her troubles are over. Nancy teaches Judi the secret to staying thin--purging--and Judi is thrilled she can "have her cake and eat it, too." But soon Judi is caught up in the dangerous cycle of bingeing and purging and as her eating spins out of control, so does her life. Judi's eating disorder is no longer just another eighth grade problem--it's a matter of life and death. Fat Chance was awarded the Parents' Choice Silver Medal in 1994. It was also a Finalist for the Iowa Teen Award in 1997.

Ages 10 and up

Why I wrote this book   When I was living in Colorado in 1980, a young woman I knew was struck by lightning and killed. Her parents found and read her diary, and were shocked to see all the writing in it was about her issues with food and weight, and how much she hated her body. No one knew this young woman had an eating disorder. Our society places too much emphasis on physical appearance and thinness. I wrote Fat Chance in the hopes that the young girls and women who read it would see that dieting doesn't work, and is in fact dangerous. Instead of hating and trying to change our bodies because we don't look like fashion models in magazines, it would be better if we could learn to love and accept ourselves just as we are.

Ode to My Hips   Look out boy these hips are coming through! These hips'll knock you off your feet if you don't make room for them to move. These hips sway These hips sashay These ain't no size 3 1/2 slim Kate Moss teenage boy hypocritical hips-- These hips are woman hips! These hips are wide These hips hypnotize These hips fill a skirt the way the wind fills a sail. These hips have chutzpah, they think they can change the whole world! When I take these hips out for a walk on the street and the sun is shining and my bones are gleaming I place my hands on these two hips and let them speak the truth.