Central Recovery Press
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Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas, NV 89129
© 2012 by Gary Solomon
All rights reserved. Published 2012.
Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Publisher: Central Recovery Press
3321 N. Buffalo Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89129
17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-1-936290-74-1 (paper)
ISBN-10: 1-936290-74-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-936290-76-5 (e-book)
Cover design and illustrations by Lynne Adamson
Interior design and layout by Sara Streifel, Think Creative Design
To my sister, Marlene, though you grew up just down the hall from me, I never really knew you. I know what I went through; you must have gone through the same thing.
We never had much of a chance at life. I made it; you did not.
Marlene, this one’s for you.
Table of Contents
6. lf lt’s Not One Thing, lt’s Another
Activity Guide and Discussion Questions
Things You Can Do to Stay Healthy
Resources for Kids and Parents
This is a story about Brian. Brian is like most children and yet, he is different from a lot of children. He’s not tall like a basketball player or strong like a football player or fast like a runner. No, he doesn’t have three heads and he’s not one of those kids who can play a musical instrument. Brian, well, how should I say this? To be totally honest, Brian is just fat. I could say that he is pleasingly plump or just going through a stage or heavyset or lots of other descriptions that would apply to Brian, but the truth is, he’s fat.
To me it’s important for everyone to know why Brian is fat. He’s fat because he eats too much. And he eats too much because that’s how he deals with his feelings. Brian has lots of feelings about his family, and many of those feelings he’s not even aware of having. So this story is also about Brian’s family: Charlotte, his mother; Marshall, his father; and Madison, his sister.
Brian’s family lives in the same way most families do. Oh, maybe they are better off than some, but not as well off as others. But basically they’re the same as every other family, at least that’s the way it seems. Maybe after reading this story about them, you will see what’s different about Brian and his family and you will understand why Brian is so fat.
“Mom, Mom, Dad’s home,” yelled Brian as he leaped away from the window where he’d been standing. Brian was excited because today he’d received his report card. Straight “A”s. Well, almost. There was that one little “D” he got in physical education, but that didn’t ruin his excitement. Brian was used to getting a “D” in physical education, and he wasn’t going to let that grade ruin an otherwise perfect report card. All “A”s, he thought as he ran to the door to greet his father, who was coming home from work. All “A”s!
The “A”s were special for Brian. Special, because it meant that he got extra attention. He didn’t get much attention except at report card time, and a twelve-and-a-half-year-old likes attention sometimes, even if it’s just for a stupid old report card that his sister Madison couldn’t care less about.
“Why do you worry so much about that stuff?” Madison would ask. “All you ever do is play those lame video games. You know you wouldn’t be so fat if you’d do something other than sit around all day. You could exercise like I do.”
Madison was always exercising, and if she wasn’t exercising she was running, and if she wasn’t running she was jumping, and if she wasn’t jumping she was riding her bike. In fact, Madison never sat still. But that is no concern of mine,