This edition, with Emme, on the cover, intrigued me. Emme, of Northern New Jersey, writes a lovely essay. The first plus-size model - she paved the way for Ashley Graham - is, as her writing proves, completely together. She is that wise friend, the one who knows precisely how to present herself, deal with jerks and look stunning while doing so.
In her essay, she recalls a pivotal day in 1989, the day of her first major photo shoot.
"On the way to the location, I picked up a big box of chocolate and cinnamon rugelach from my favorite bakery for everyone to nosh on while we worked, then wondered if they would all say, 'Of course the plus-size model would bring in something fattening to eat!"
It's a wonderful attitude and she needed that reserve of good will. It was an important day for fashion; this was the setting to make one of the first ads featuring a heavier model. It was for a national jeans ad. And as big of a deal as that was for fashion, it was a tremendous day for Emme. Continue the article →
WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?
After working with the National Eating Disorders Association for over 15 years and as an expert on network TV speaking about body image, self esteem and societal extremes relating to women, I kept feeling we were only scratching the surface to the source of this very serious issue of fooling with our food, not fueling ourselves with it…stemming in my opinion, from deep non-acceptance. I began to feel we were hungry for much more than food…for something deeper, more meaningful that had nothing to do with food. As a way to introduce this concept to parents and children at the same time, I felt I needed to create a children’s book where parents and children together would read and learn in a simple way how profoundly emotional hunger can affect aperson’s life, often starting very young! Thanks to talented illustrator, Eric Brooks, we were able to keep the attention time and time again of our young readers who will hopefully feel more full, if not worthy and pass that innate sense of belonging along to their world and children to come!
TRUE BEAUTY
My first book! Absolutely like birthing a baby. In the warm hotel lobby of the Royalton in NYC , many cups of hot tea and under the masterful eye of Dan Paisner (also the writer for Morning Has Broken a book my ex-husband Phil and I wrote about his journey through depression) who knew what questions to ask, had the patience of a saint, and the experience to push me open to reveal the pain, joy and burgeoning life unfolding before me at the beginning of my career. I was and still am very lucky to have my long time literary agent and friend Dan Strone heralding this first book into the book and fashion publishing world – to which I am certain, was not familiar (other than our wonderful team at PUTNAM Publishers) with a woman (not to mention a model) with curves accepting herself despite all odds in 1996. The doors were certainly not as open as they are today, I am glad to say in the fashion world. Photographers actually refused to shoot a full figured model, the models themselves were paid 3/4 what the other ‘straight’ sized girls on the same shoot. Advertising and campaign work was non existent prior to 1991 when I first began. Believe me, the beautiful women I worked with in the very beginning earned every dollar that increased over the years. But boy did we have so much fun!!!
I have used True Beauty for many of my lectures as a girlfriend to girlfriend outreached hand saying, “you are not alone!” In the next year or so, I’ll create a new intro and add more pictures… I promise, this will come but I have a few things on my plate first to take care of!
LIFE’S LITTLE EMERGENCIES
I could not have written this book with anyone else other than my friend and best selling writer, Natasha Stoynoff. I had just given birth to my daughter Toby in 2001, the world trade centers had just fallen, we wrote and wrote at the Jersey shore, and consumed bottles of wine in the process. We were feeling the need to remind ourselves and shed light on what was really an emergency (something to get twisted about) vs. everything else in our lives. Definitely a girls get together book – today I see it as the distraction I needed for everything being so unstable around us in the New York area…Life literally had new meaning.
Here’s a snippet from description:
Take off your shoes, curl up on the sofa, grab your favorite drink, let down your hair, and get ready for some straight-from-the-heart girl talk from Emme!
In this frank, practical, and hilarious guide to getting through life’s everyday emergencies, Emme is your navigator. Her insider’s eye and priceless connections will help you solve the dilemmas that come your way—no matter what! Whether it’s what to wear on that all-important first date (or totally crucial first interview), or how to throw an unforgettable party, or what to take with you on that impromptu getaway with the perfect guy, Emme comes to the rescue! And she calls on some of the smartest women around for “been there, done that” advice—women like Naomi Wolf, Aida Turturro, Trisha Yearwood, and Camryn Manheim. Each section is jam-packed with useful tips and strategies to help you get through things that might otherwise throw you for a loop.
