True beauty

The number-one plus-size model in the world shares the inspirational story of how she came to accept her size - and even view it as an asset - claiming health and happiness along the way. At five-foot-eleven and 185 pounds, supermodel Emme is challenging conventional concepts of beauty. Since her early teenage years, well-meaning relatives encouraged Emme to lose weight. Through the years, she got the message: Happiness could be hers only after she dipped below a certain. Number on the scale. Not until she began to row crew in college did she come to view size as an asset - an asset that eventually earned her an invitation to the 1984 United States Olympic team trials in Princeton. She began to question assumptions about body image she'd long harbored; only then did she start to lead a happy life. In True Beauty she recounts her dramatic success story, and discusses overcoming stereotypes through dressing, shopping, dating, relationships, Job interviews, travel, and exercise. Developing a positive mental image is critical to developing a positive public image, she writes; one reinforces the other.