Pandora, HarperCollins, London, 1994

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Being fat is not a sin, but, Shelley Bovey argues, the majority of overweight women are made to feel otherwise. Those who don't fit into society's strict limits on size are not just the butt of seaside postcards; they are considered stupid, incompetent and even deviant.

This successful and forthright book has already struck chords for thousands of women for whom weight is a worrying issue. In this new and fully updated edition, Shelley Bovey puts tough questions to surgeons, dietitians and others with a vested interest in women wanting to be thinner, and talks to doctors who confess that prejudice, not scientific fact, makes them condemn fat women as unhealthy.

The Forbidden Body helps find a way out of the miserable isolation so many women feel because of their size. It is about losing guilt and inhibition, not weight.

Being Fat Is Not a Sin had attracted an enormous amount of publicity because weight is something about which most people hold very strong opinions. For the first time, the issues of discrimination and prejudice were being openly discussed in this country. I was frequently interviewed for radio, television and newspapers; it seemed that the subject provoked debate in which there were strong factions and tides of opinion. Because of the ongoing interest in the subject, my publishers decided we needed a bigger version of Being Fat, one that would be of relevance to the American market. I rewrote the book, added a great deal of new material and it became a new book. I decided I did not want the word 'fat' in the title this time - that title had been chosen by the publishers and I personally disliked the word 'fat'. As a compromise - because the publishers felt it had been a strong title - we kept it as a subtitle. The Forbidden Body was well received in America - but I was unable to do a book tour because I had a flying phobia (since cured - touch wood!)

'As honest as she is angry, her message at once defiant and full of pain is delivered in the dynamic, readable prose of an experienced journalist.' Everywoman.

'Powerfully confronts every fattist remark you'll come across with rational, though-provoking arguments � an impassioned eye-opener [which] says everything about losing guilt and gaining freedom, not weight.' Ms London

'A frank account... a real eye-opener'. The Mail on Sunday

'An enormously interesting book.' City Line Magazine