Podcast 130: Empowering teens to find validation within themselves with Angie Manfredi, author of The (Other) F Word

As a mom I wonder daily how I’m doing at helping my kids make sense of the world and that includes their bodies, other people’s bodies, and how we all treat each other. Angie Manfredi has collected a powerful book of essays, art, and poems from adults speaking directly to teens who may feel like they don’t belong because they believe “my body is a problem”. The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce reads like empowering “love letters” from the contributors to their younger life versions…. the book they wish they had when they needed it.

In this interview we discuss reasons why many fat activists want to liberate the word fat as a descriptor and why that is hard for many people to do. (Hint: cultural rules and norms!)

Tune in for Angie’s amazing answers to this question and more. Plus I read two excerpts as a teaser for you. This book helped me as an adult. Even though it targets teens, anyone who is interested will learn something meaningful from this book.

Listen to Episode 130:

About Angie

Angie Manfredi is a librarian and writer who owns every season of Law and Order on DVD and sends over 150 handwritten Valentines every year. She has spent the last 11 years working directly with children and teens of all ages in a public library and now works in library consulting on all things youth services. Angie is fat and not sorry about it. She is a passionate advocate for literacy, diversity, and decolonizing the discourse surrounding children’s literature.

Website | Twitter | Book: The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce