"I was always thirsty for an insidery exegesis of the ever-elusive Emily Weiss and her proverbially 'cool-girl' Glossier empire. What a treat that this vivid, first-of-its-kind account now actually exists. Meltzer is a sharp, intimate narrator who has penned a devourable story of ambition, beauty, gender, and capitalism—told with all the juiciness and sparkling clarity of (dare I say it) the titular brand's Balm Dot Com."
—Amanda Montell, bestselling author of Cultish

Praise for This Is Big

“In this memoir-nonfiction hybrid, Meltzer skillfully blends her own extensive dieting history with the life story of Jean Nidetch, the Queens housewife who founded Weight Watchers in 1963 and helped to create “diet culture” as we know it today.”
—Vogue

"A triumphant chronicle... Meltzer has created singular companionate text for those who know the agony of frustration surrounding weight as an issue, both personal and political. Acerbic, culturally astute and genuine, [Meltzer] makes exquisite company in the struggle."
—New York Times

"[This] brilliant book tells the story of thinness obsession through the lives of two women-Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers, and Meltzer herself."
—Glamour

"Meltzer looks at her own pursuit of weight loss and uses it to illuminate our culture's relentless focus on thinness."
—Washington Post

"This is Big...[finds] in Nidetch both a genuine pioneer - a woman who built a massive culture-defining business at a time when women couldn't even have their own credit cards - and a representative of many ideas about weight and health that are as destructive as they are enduring."
—Vanity Fair

"Not a memoir of radical self-acceptance or saccharine inspiration, but a candid - at times dark - look at what it means to be an overweight woman in 2020."
—Los Angeles Times

"Meltzer writes movingly of her own struggles with having a body, but her experiment isn't the exclusive focus of the book: It also chronicles the life of Weight Watchers founder Jean Nidetch, whose vaudevillian comic timing, retrograde ideas about fat and happiness, and unconcealed desire for fame and connection make her a fascinating subject."
—Vox

"If you've ever been critical of diets, diet companies, and diet culture in the past, you're going to love what Meltzer has to offer here."
—Bustle

"This heartfelt, incisive book layers the story of Weight Watchers founder Jean Nidetch with the author's own lifelong journey through various fad diets. What emerges is a surprising portrait of a remarkable but little-known life in business, as well as a thoughtful critique of America's obsession with thinness."
—Esquire