Fat, Stupid, Ugly: One Woman's Courage to Survive

by Debrah Constance and J.I. Kleinberg

In the spirit of A Child Called "It" comes an amazing story of resilience from a woman who triumphed over child abuse, cancer, and alcoholism to founder of A Place Called Home. "I began life, it would... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0757302254
• ISBN13: 9780757302251
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Hci
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

This book was an inspiration.

Liked this book very much.

The Light Shines Brightly

As a psychologist, I am always astonished at what people can transcend. Debrah Constance's telling of her life story in her own words is witness to this fact. I found "Fat, Stupid, Ugly" extremely inspiring. It gave me pause. It gave me the opening for further introspection into my own life. The questions are always the same: Who am I? Where am I going? What am I doing? It seems to me to be truly awake, these questions must be posed time and time again. In my 61 years I have found this to be so. "Fat, Stupid, Ugly" is a disturbing book that provokes us to think beyond the surface of our day-to-day lives. I thank Debrah for this book; it is a gift to all of us. She is remarkable. Our lives can be so difficult and some of us have dramatic and cataclysmic events befalling us. Debrah tells us about the major obstacles in her life and that the battle is worth it in the end. It brings us to our ultimate truths. Debrah's story reminds us that the work is never done, the job never quite complete. We are all on our way back home is how I see it. And on the way back we meet each other and hopefully shed a little light on the task at hand. Thank you, Debrah. The light shines brightly.

This book made me feel like I could accomplish anything

For most of us, good self-esteem and good self image drives us to do great things ... make more money, create a home for our family, be the best kind of person we can be, and do right in the world. But for Debrah Constance, not having any self-esteem and being labeled "Fat Stupid Ugly" pushed her to help a displaced community deal with life's hardest issues -- drug addictions, gang violence, single parenting, school drop outs, and death. Debrah is the founder of "A Place Called Home," a South Central Los Angeles youth center that provides at risk children, ages nine to twenty, with a secure, positive family environment where they an regain hope and belief, earn trust and self-respect and learn skills to lead to a productive life. Debrah's memoir chronicles her life as an abused child who thought so little of herself she endured deep psychological and emotional problems, drug and drinking addictions and abusive relationships throughout her life. After a life long struggle with her poor self image, she found a way to change her pattens, get help for her drug/alcohol problems and give back to children who have lost hope. This is an amazing person. I found hope and direction for my own life after reading it. I hope I get an opportunity to meet her one day so I can thank her. Her story belongs on the Oprah show so that other people can learn that even when the most unfortunate situation occurs ... there is hope. Thank you Debrah!

I really enjoyed reading this book.

A great book. I feel that many people can relate to the topics in this book and learn something from it. I really enjoyed reading it and could not put it down.

A MUST READ

I loved this book from beginning to end. It is an amazing story and impossible to put down once you start. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspiring story.

A compelling story of courage and hope.

I couldn't put this book down once I stared reading. This book is a must for anyone who has ever experienced any abuse or changledge with addiction. It's an amazing true story of a woman who grew up with sexual abuse and not only survived years of abuse and addiction but while healing her own wounds, helped to change the lives of thousands of at risk children and their families in South Central Los Angeles. This story shows the resislence of the human spirit and what one person can do to affect change in a community through dedicated service. I hope this book gets the attention it deserves and I hope to see the author on the Oprah Show one day very soon.