Above: a contemporary photo; Below: the "before" picture.

I have written a memoir about my fat and troubled childhood that lasted almost 35 years. It took me that long to begin to understand that maybe I wasn't just a weak, slovenly misfit, that perhaps I was an addict around food. Once I started getting treatment that an addict might get, I started getting better. Now I'm approaching 20 years in a normal-sized body, which proves to me that there might be something to do this food addiction thing. But acceptance of food addiction has barely moved, and insurance support to treat it has, if anything, regressed. Clearly, someone ought to say something, and I have. I'm no diet guru, and this isn't a diet book, but if I escaped more than a decade above 300 pounds, if I could, I'm certain lots of others could too. And that's why I've written, to pass ideas to others as they were shared with me.

I am seeking representation and/or a publisher, and welcome inquiries. Though I’m still revising, excerpts are here and here.

In my series "Green people," I ask everyone to name a green hero, and the following are their answers, some known, some not. Click through to see whose hero is whose, why, and further links:

Rick Ames
Amory Lovins
John Larsen
Marty Aikens
William McDonough
Helen Norberg-Hodge
Al Gore
Mindy Lubber
Jane Goodall